MALL OPERATOR SM Prime Holdings, Inc. grew its January to September net income by about 15% to P7.40 billion versus year-ago levels, a disclosure by SM Prime to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed on Monday.

The firm citing gains derived from the new malls opened in the last two years and higher sales from local and China malls. 

According to the disclosure, SM Prime recorded a consolidated net income of P7.40 billion for the year’s first nine months, up 15.45% from last year’s P6.41 billion, while revenues rose by 14.69% to P22.10 billion from P19.27 billion in year-ago levels.

The company’s financial statement was not immediately available, however.

“The growth is largely due to rentals from new Philippine malls opened in 2010 and 2011, same store sales growth of 8%, and the improved profit performance of SM’s China malls,” SM Prime said in the disclosure, but without elaborating.

SM Prime’s four malls in China contributed P1.90 billion in gross revenues for January to September, 27.52% higher than P1.49 billion last year, or 9% and 8% of the company’s total consolidated revenues, respectively.

At present, the average occupancy rate for SM’s four China malls–located in Xiamen, Jinjiang, Chengdu, and Chongqing–stands at 96%.

The mall operator’s nine-month operating expenses, meanwhile, expanded by 14.58% to P10.45 billion from P9.12 billion last year due to an increase in administrative expenses such as utilities and manpower expenses, business taxes, and film rentals.

Hans T. Sy, SM Prime president, said: “Our performance for the first nine months of 2012 gives us confidence in reaching our full-year target. We think that consumer sentiment will remain positive on the back of a strong domestic economy.” — Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente