SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s leading integrated property developer, said it is still on track to achieve its P32-billion net income and P100-billion revenue targets this year despite the possibility of missing its goal of 75 malls this year.
SM Prime vice president for investor relations Alex Pomento said in an interview at the sidelines of SM Prime’s P20-billion bond listing at Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. the company was scheduled to open six malls this year to end the year with 73 outlets.
SM Prime had planned to build 75 malls under a five-year plan ending 2018.
The few malls, however, will will not affect the company’s ability to meet the P32-billion net income target by the end of 2018 from P16 billion in 2013.
“The new malls that will open this year will not contribute to earnings this year but in future earnings. So we are more fixated in the doubling of out the net income. All we need to do it achieve a 15 to 16 percent growth this year (to meet the target),” Pomento said.
“The mall openings is more of reference only. Although there is an intention to build up malls, there are constraints like getting permits. So we are not rushing ourselves just to meet the target number of malls,” he added.
SM Prime this year is slated to open SM City Urdaneta Central, SM City Telebastagan in San Fernando, Pampanga, SM City Legaspi, SM City Ormoc and SM City Dagupan in 2018.
Pomento said the company was reviewing its expansion plans in China given the sharp growth in the Philippines.
“We are calibrating of expansion program for China because we are still enjoying good growth in the Philippines. The focus of the group is Philippines although we are still open to other parts of Southeast Asia for as long as it would beat the returns we have in the Philippines,” Pomento said.
SM Prime operates seven malls in China with 1.3 million square meters of gross floor area as of end 2017.