SHOPPING mall builder and operator SM Prime Holdings Inc. ended the second quarter with a 12-percent rise in net profit to P1.43 billion as gross revenues surged 21 percent to P3.9 billion. 

The strong results allowed the Henry Sy-controlled company to record an 11-percent improvement in net profit as of end June to P2.9 billion and gross revenues of P7.45 billion.

“Our first half results reflect the fact that our aggressive expansion last year is generating benefits beyond our expectations, as our new malls enjoy very high occupancy levels and record foot traffic.

The SM Mall of Asia is clearly in the radar screen of Filipino consumers, foreign and domestic tourists, and other groups who have made it the prime destination mall in the country ,said president Hans T. Sy in a statement.

Sy sees foot traffic in the Mall of Asia to improve further toward the fourth quarter as adjacent buildings in the area, such as the SMX Convention Center and, OneEcom Center—SM’s BPO building—will open for business this October. 

“After opening our state-of-the-art 32-lane bowling center, we are also looking forward to the opening of the Science Discovery Center and Planetarium at the Mall of Asia and the Sunset Strip fronting Manila Bay this October,he said.

The company’s rental revenues from January to June this year grew 22 percent amounting to P6.15 billion, as it benefited from the opening of new malls, such as the Mall of Asia, SM City Sta. Rosa, SM City Lipa, SM City Clark, SM Supercenter Pasig, and The Block—a mall extension of SM North Edsa.

This year, SM Prime opened SM City Bacolod. “All these new malls have an average occupancy rate of 98 percent. Combined, they provided an additional 800,000 square meters of gross floor area, bringing the total to 3.6 million square meters for all 28 SM Prime malls nationwide.

Average daily foot traffic for all the malls is two million,�? Sy said. The company is scheduled to open SM City Taytay and SM Supercenter Muntinlupa. On the other hand, expansion is ongoing in existing malls, namely, SM City Cebu-Annex and SM City Pampanga.