SMPH sees record profit, residential rebound
Real estate giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. is seeing steady takeup of its residential inventory for the remainder of the year, potentially helping lift its earnings as the Philippine property market recovers.
SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim told reporters on Monday that they were already seeing recovery through lower cancellations, especially in June and July.
“We foresee steady takeup, which should result in a gradual decline in our inventory,” Lim said during a press briefing. “Once the market normalizes, we have enough inventory to capture new demand without rushing new launches.”
This, as real estate brokers reported the Philippine property market’s path to recovery by 2026, in which residential vacancy is expected to start declining in Metro Manila.
On top of this, SM Prime also aims to pursue more provincial locations, where the company sees strong demand.
The developer’s optimism also comes as it logged record-high first-semester earnings at P24.5 billion, up by 11 percent on the back of higher rental income, real estate sales and ancillary revenues.
The Sy family-led developer on Monday said its top line had climbed by 5 percent to P68 billion, with malls, offices, hospitality and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) doing the heavy lifting and accounting for 60 percent of the total.
SM Prime chief financial officer John Nai Peng Ong said this growth trajectory “should be aligned leading toward the full-year” earnings of the company.
Malls likewise accounted for 69 percent of SM Prime’s total earnings at P17 billion on new openings, higher foot traffic and strong occupancy.
“The redevelopment and new attractions at our flagship Mall of Asia drove strong foot traffic and tenant sales,” Lim said in a statement. “Robust consumer activity and improving business confidence also lifted contributions across our portfolio.”
Income from residential projects inched up by 2 percent to P5.1 billion, equivalent to 21 percent of the total bottom line.
Earnings of the office and warehouse segment jumped by 9 percent to P1.7 billion. Hotel and convention center earnings reached P635 million, up 20 percent.
