SM Prime Holdings Inc. said on Tuesday its first-quarter earnings climbed with the addition of new malls and the expansion of existing ones.  In a statement, the Philippines’ biggest mall developer and operator said its net income for the first three months rose 11 percent to P1.5 billion. 

Gross revenues jumped 24 percent to P3.6 billion due to rental revenues from five malls that opened last year, which include the SM Mall of Asia, SM City Sta. Rosa, SM City Clark, SM Supercenter Pasig and SM City Lipa. 

“Expect more to come from us as we carry out our goal of bringing more SM malls to provincial communities and expand some of our existing malls that have naturally grown and evolved with its markets,�? Hans T. Sy, SM Prime president said. 

Expansion of its existing malls like SM North EDSA and the opening of SM City Bacolod two months ago also contributed to the revenue growth.

The mall operator’s total gross floor area reached 3.6 million square meters as of the first three months of the year.  Rental revenues from the malls—which accounted for 83 percent of total revenues—grew by 26 percent to P3 billion with the new malls registering an average occupancy level of 97 percent even as same store rentals inched up by 7 percent. 

Cinema ticket sales also climbed by 19 percent to P429 million with the opening of more cinemas, supported by domestic and international blockbuster films like Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo, Ghost Rider, 300, Night at the Museum and Agent X44. 

Due to the aggressive mall openings last year, operating expenses for the first quarter increased to P1.6 billion but operating income grew by 17 percent to P2 billion.  Last week, SM City Cebu Annex opened, making it SM Prime’s fourth largest mall and the largest in the Visayas area. 

Other malls scheduled to open this year include SM City Taytay and SM Supercenter Muntinlupa. Expansion of existing malls like the Science Discovery Center at the Mall of Asia and SM City Pampanga are also scheduled by year-end.