SM Prime Holdings, Inc. said profit grew at a faster pace in the first three months of 2015, buoyed by a non-recurring gain from the sale of securities.

SM Prime told the stock exchange it booked consolidated net income of P12.6 billion in the first quarter, up 176% year-on-year. This includes the extraordinary gain from the sale of marketable securities worth P7.4 billion.

Excluding that extraordinary item, profit was up 14% — still higher than the 11% expansion a year earlier. Consolidated revenue rose 9% to P16.7 billion.

“2015 promises to be a strong year and the first quarter numbers seem to reflect that. There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic with consumer spending getting a boost from lower oil prices and improved consumer confidence,” SM Prime President Hans T. Sy said in a statement attached to a disclosure.

“The strong economy provides much motivation for us to expand and grow our business more aggressively to take advantage of new opportunities, particularly in the provincial areas. We can grow all areas of business, malls, residences, commercial and tourism-related developments together to achieve synergies,” Mr. Sy said. — KAM Montealegre