SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s largest shopping mall operator, said its net profit rose 10 percent last year to P5.45 billion on the back of a 21-percent growth in revenues. 

In a statement released yesterday, SM Prime said operating revenues jumped 21 percent to P13.2 billion while gross earnings increased 24 percent to P 9.3 billion.  ‘Growth was mainly derived from the same-mall sales of six percent and the five new malls that SM Prime opened in 2006, which increased its gross floor area by 23 percent to 3.5 million square meters,’ the company said. 

Among the malls that opened last year were SM City Sta. Rosa, SM City Clark, SM Supercenter Pasig, SM City Lipa, and the largest mall in the country — the SM Mall of Asia, which accounts for about 11 percent of SM Prime’s total gross floor area.  SM Prime said average daily foot traffic increased from 1.7 million in 2005 to two million in 2006. 

Cinema ticket sales contributed P1.6 billion or 22 percent higher than the previous year due to the showing of several blockbuster movies.  ‘Our 2006 results reinforce SM Prime’s dominant and profitable position in the Philippine mall business.

It’s a position we take with the highest degree of responsibility and commitment for continued growth and service innovation.

We thank our customers for their enduring support for SM malls and our shareholders for their confidence in the management’s capability to deliver the company’s goals,’ SM Prime president Hans Sy said. 

For this year, SM Prime plans to open four new malls and expand three of its existing malls for a total capital expenditure of P7 billion. It will open its first new mall for the year in Bacolod on March 2. 

Other malls slated for opening this year include SM City Taytay, SM Supercenter Muntinlupa and a strip mall called the Sunset Strip at the Esplanade, fronting Manila Bay and right across the SM Mall of Asia in SM Bay City. 

Among those undergoing expansion are SM City Cebu, SM City Fairview, and SM City San Fernando, Pampanga.  SM Prime is a subsidiary of holding company SM Investments Corp., which also has interests in banking, real estate development, and retail.