SM Prime Holdings, Inc. said it targets to operate 100 malls as early as 2026.
“Right now, we have 85 malls; we are opening four this year, one [this] week, and three for the balance of the year, probably in September, October, and November,” Steven T. Tan, president of SM Supermalls, told reporters in a chance interview.
“Next year, we will open four or five malls depending on the finishing of the construction, and in the year after we have six malls that are opening, so we hope to hit the 100 mark either at the end of 2026 or early 2027,” Mr. Tan added.
SM Supermalls, or Shopping Center Management Corp., is the mall management unit of SM Prime. As of the end of 2023, the company has 85 malls in the Philippines and eight malls in China, which in total have a gross floor area of 10.8 million square meters.
Earlier this year, SM Prime earmarked P100 billion for its capital expenditure for 2024, the bulk, or 60%, of which will be used for the enhancement of its malls and the development of residential properties, hotels, and convention centers.
The remaining 40% of the earmarked amount will be used for property acquisition and coastal developments.
SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), through SM Prime, is developing a 360-hectare reclamation project in Pasay City worth around P100 billion. Previously, the company shared that it is planning the initial public offering of its real estate investment trust to fund the reclamation project.
In the first quarter, SM Prime booked a 10.8% growth in attributable net income to P10.46 billion from P9.44 billion in the same period last year.
The property developer’s first-quarter consolidated revenues also increased 7.3% to P30.72 billion compared with P28.63 billion in 2023.
On Friday, the company’s shares dropped 0.74% or 20 centavos to P26.75 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
