DESPITE earlier anticipation that the global financial turmoil could lead to reduced consumer spending, mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH) posted a 7-percent increase in net profit at the end of the first quarter to P1.7 billion.

The growth was on the back of a 1-percent rise in revenues to P4.7 billion, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

The results include the operations of the three SM malls in China, following their acquisition in early 2008. The SM China malls are located in the cities of Xiamen and Jinjiang in southern China, and Chengdu in central China.

“We are very pleased by the resilience that our malls are experiencing despite earlier prognosis of a more challenging economic environment. The SM malls continue to enjoy high foot traffic and healthy sales growth. As we continue to focus on offering quality and value for money products and services, we also closely monitor the effects of the global financial crisis on local demand, especially on consumer spending. We are hopeful that moving forward it will have much less of an impact in Asia,” said president Hans T. Sy.

From January to March this year, rental fees accounted for the largest share of SM Prime’s consolidated revenues, reaching P4.1 billion or a growth of 19 percent. This was due to the new malls and expansions completed in 2008. The new malls opened last year include SM City Marikina, SM City Rosales and SM City Baliwag.