SM Prime Holdings Inc., the largest Philippine shopping mall operator, had its share-price target raised 16 percent by Macquarie Securities Ltd. on prospects for faster profit growth. 

SM Prime shares may rise to 14.25 pesos in the next 12 months, compared with a November forecast of 12.30 pesos, Gilbert Lopez, an analyst at the Manila unit of Macquarie Securities, said in a note to clients today.

The new forecast indicates a possible 12 percent gain from SM Prime’s 12.75 peso price today. Manila-based SM Prime has 3.49 million square meters of retail space, distributed among its 27 shopping malls nationwide.

The company plans to add three new shopping malls this year, in addition to the expansion of three others. Net income growth at SM Prime will probably accelerate to 14 percent this year, compared with a 10 percent expansion in 2006, Lopez said.

Sales at SM Prime’s tenants, which include the nation’s largest grocer and department stores, will gain from spending related to the May 2007 local and national elections, he said.

‘The key drivers for this is the maturation of previously opened retail space, the addition of new malls, and our expectation of much stronger retail sales,” Lopez said.

‘The company is one of the biggest beneficiaries of improved consumption because of the coming elections.”

Shares of SM Prime have risen 19 percent this year, compared with a 13 percent advance in the main Philippine Stock Exchange Index.  The stock added 36 percent in 2006, following three years of gains.