SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime), the Philippines’ dominant shopping mall developer and operator, reported a 10 percent hike in consolidated net income to P3.8 billion in the first half of 2010 from P3.4 billion in the same period last year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SM Prime said its consolidated revenues grew 17 percent to P11.3 billion, compared with P9.6 billion during the first semester of 2009. EBITDA for January to June rose 17 percent to P7.7 billion, for an EBITDA margin of 68 percent.

“The encouraging results delivered by SM Prime validate our positive sentiment on the economy, which is further bolstered by robust consumer spending,” said SM Prime president Hans T. Sy. He added that, “in that light, we look to the second half of the year with more optimism in executing our expansion plans. We aim to offer more avenues for high quality yet affordable products and services, for which the SM brand is known.”

For the first half of 2010, SM Prime’s consolidated rental revenues continued to contribute the biggest share, growing by 13 percent to P9.5 billion from P8.4 billion during the same period last year.

The increase was supported by the continued strength of the consumer and remittance sectors and the added space resulting from the opening of three new malls in 2009 on one new mall this year.

Expansion projects in three malls also contributed to rental revenue growth.

The new malls and expansions in 2009 and 2010 added 340,000 square meters (sqm) to the company’s total gross floor area (GFA) and presently register an average occupancy rate of 94 percent. Excluding new malls opened and expansions completed from 2008 to 2010, same store rental growth is at 6 percent.

Meanwhile, due to a marked increase in the number of blockbuster movies shown this year, cinema ticket sales from January to June 2010 surged 47 percent to P1.4 billion from P0.9 billion during the same period in 2009.

In terms of gross revenues, the three malls in China contributed P0.6 billion in the first half or 5 percent of total consolidated revenues. In terms of net income, these malls contributed P0.1 billion for the six-month period, or 3 percent of total consolidated net income.