SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime), the Philippines’ dominant shopping mall developer and operator, reported a 10% increase in consolidated net income during the first six months of 2010, to Php3.8 billion from Php3.4 billion in the same period last year. Consolidated revenues grew 17% to Php11.3 billion, compared with Php9.6 billion during the first semester of 2009. EBITDA for January to June rose 17% to Php7.7 billion, for an EBITDA margin of 68%.

SM Prime’s first-half results both include the operations of its three malls in mainland China. These malls are located in the provinces of Jin-Jiang, Xiamen, and Chengdu. SM Prime’s consolidated rental revenues continue to contribute the biggest share, growing by 13% and amounting to Php9.5 billion, as compared to Php8.4 billion during the same period last year. The increase was supported by the continued strength of the consumer and remittance sectors and the added space resulting from the opening of new malls in 2009 namely, SM City Naga, SM City Rosario, and SM Center Las Piñas, together with SM City
Tarlac, which opened in April of this year. In addition, expansion projects in SM North Edsa, SM City Fairview, and SM City Rosales also contributed to rental revenue growth. The new malls and expansions in 2009 and 2010 added 340,000 square meters (sqm) to the company’s total gross floor area (GFA) and presently register an average occupancy rate of 94%. Excluding new malls opened and expansions completed from 2008 to 2010, same store rental growth is at 6%.

Meanwhile, due to a marked increase in the number of blockbuster movies shown this year, cinema ticket sales from January to June 2010 surged 47% to Php1.4 billion from Php0.9 billion during the same period in 2009.

Following the April 2010 opening of SM City Tarlac, SM Prime will launch later this year SM City Novaliches in Quezon City and SM Supercenter San Pablo and SM City Calamba, both of which are in the province of Laguna. The company is also set to open its fourth SM mall in mainland China, which will be located in the city of Suzhou. By year-end, the company is expected to have 40 malls in the Philippines, with an estimated total GFA of 4.7 million sqm.