SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s leading mall developer, reported Tuesday a 7 percent jump in net income during the first quarter of the year on higher rental revenues.

In a statement, SM Prime said its net income in January to March this year reached P1.7 billion, compared to P1.6 billion in the same months last year.

Revenues for the three-month period rose 18 percent to P4.7 billion while EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) grew 14 percent to P3.3 billion.

SM Prime’s first quarter results include the operations of the three malls it aquired in China last year. The malls are located in the cities of Xiamen, Jinjiang and Chengdu.

‘The SM malls continue to enjoy high foot traffic and healthy sales growth…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 SM Prime president Hans Sy.

In the first quarter, rental fees still accounted for the largest share of SM Prime’s total revenues, increasing 19 percent to P4.1 billion. This was mainly due to new malls and expansion of existing ones in 2008.

SM Prime opened SM City Marikina, SM City Rosales and SM City Baliwag and completed The Annex at SM City North Edsa and The Atrium at SM Megamall. In all, these added approximately 353,000 square meters to the company’s total gross floor area (GFA).

Meanwhile, cinema ticket sales during the first three months improved by 8 percent because of local blockbuster movies.

Last May 1, SM Prime inaugurated SM City Naga in Camarines Sur. It is the company’s first mall in the Bicol region and also the first to be opened this year. SM City Naga brings to 34 the total number of SM Prime malls in the Philippines, with a total GFA of 4.4 million sqm.

For the rest of 2009, the company will open SM City Rosario in Cavite and SM City Pamplona in Las Piñas. It will also unveil the Sky Garden, which is an innovative expansion of SM City North EDSA, and complete the expansion of SM City Rosales in Pangasinan.

By the end of this year, SM Prime expects to have 36 malls in the country, with an estimated GFA of 4.9 million sqm.