SMIC earns P18.2 B in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines - SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the business holdings firm of retail tycoon Henry Sy, logged slightly lesser earnings in the first nine months of the year on the back of lower banking profits.

SMIC said it posted a 2.4-percent drop in profits to P18.2 billion from P18.6 billion even as consolidated revenues increased 7.7 percent to P193.2 billion from P179.4 billion.

Core net income, which excluded extraordinary items such as trading gains in the group’s banking businesses last year, rose 13.7 percent to P18.1 billion in the first three quarters from P15.9 billion a year ago.

Underlying revenues likewise improved 9.4 percent to P192.9 billion from P176.3 billion.

 “Our underlying profitability was driven by strong delivery of BDO and steady property contribution. In retail, gross margins have stabilized despite the intensifying competition, and we remain committed to expanding to new formats to tap the unserved and underserved markets,” SM president Harley T. Sy said.

For the investment firm’s consolidated net income in the first nine months of the year, the banking business accounted for 41.9 percent, followed by property at 39.1 percent, while retail contributed 19 percent.

In the nine-month period, BDO Unibank posted a lower net income of P16.7 billion compared with P18.2 billion a year ago.

The SM group’s property and retail units, however, managed to offset the banking business’ loss with higher profits.

Umbrella property firm SM Prime Holdings Inc., specifically, increased by 18 percent its consolidated net income to P13.5 billion in the first nine months from P12 billion in the same period last year while consolidated revenues went up 8.5 percent to P47.8 billion from P44 billion the previous year.

SM Retail’s net income, meanwhile, jumped five percent to P3.8 billion as total sales rose 9.2 percent to P136.4 billion.

“SM continues to be a market leader in the Philippines. The food retail business in particular is on an aggressive expansion mode to penetrate the informal sector and both urban and rural communities. In the department store business, the SM Store continues to introduce fresh concepts and its expansion is on track in line with the completion of new SM malls,” SMIC said.