SM Prime set to open 24th mall in Clark

Shopping mall giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. will open tomorrow its 24th mall at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga, the second of five slated for opening this year.

The 99,000-square meter SM City Clark along M.A. Roxas Avenue is expected to be the newest shopping attraction at the Clark ecozone which is being developed not just as a premier investment site but also as an affordable and accessible tourist destination.

Clark is only at most three and a half hours by plane from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and other key Asian cities. And with the entry of budget airlines at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, tourist arrivals in Clark have increased.

Plans are also underway for the integration of Clark with the Subic Bay Freeport Zone to further spur tourism and investment activities at the two former US military bases.

The construction of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, set to be completed in 2007, will physically link the two economic zones and connect them to the rest of the Central Luzon region.

SM Prime said it will actively take part in the development of this newest growth corridor with the opening of SM City Clark.

SM Prime will open three other malls this year. Its biggest shopping mall, the Mall of Asia, will open on May 21. Other malls scheduled to open are the SM Supercenter Frontera Verde in Pasig and SM City Lipa in Batangas.

SM Prime is also expanding SM North Edsa with the construction of Annex 3. Earlier this year, it opened SM City Sta. Rosa in Laguna.

The company reported a net income of P1.34 billion in the first quarter this year, eight percent higher than the previous period’s P1.24 billion, mainly due to higher rental revenues with the opening of new malls.

Gross revenues increased 15 percent to P2.85 billion from P2.49 billion a year earlier. Bulk of revenues came from lease operations, accounting for P2.35 billion or an increase of 15 percent from last year’s P2.04 billion.

The increase was attributed to the opening of SM City San Lazaro, SM Supercenter Valenzuela, SM Supercenter Molino and SM City Sta. Rosa. These new malls currently have an average occupancy level of 95 percent.

Income from operations went up 22 percent to P1.71 billion from P1.4 billion while other income fell 64 percent due to higher interest expense resulting from new borrowings.

Operating expenses, meanwhile, rose six percent due to SM Prime’s hardline efforts to maintain operational efficiency.

SM Prime expects to sustain double-digit growth in revenues and profit this year with the opening of new malls, particularly SM Mall of Asia. The company is targeting a seven to 10 percent increase in its net profit this year, depending on the improvement of the economy.

Last year, SM Prime reported a net income of P4.62 billion on revenues of P10.21 billion.

SM Prime is a member of the SM Group, a conglomerate with interests in the property development, retail sale, wholesale and merchandising, banking and financial services, leisure and tourism, and real estate sectors.