SM Prime Holdings, operator of the SM Malls, is expecting early completion of the construction of  its shopping center project in Bacolod City. Instead of finishing early next year, the new mall might open before the end of 2006.

“We are pulling it ahead,�? SM Prime President Hans T. Sy, told reporters last week.

The new mall will bring the number of malls operated by SM Prime to 28 before the end of this year.

SM currently has 25 malls, including the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, which was inaugurated only last month.

Mr. Sy said the SM Supercenter Frontera Verde in Pasig City will likely open next month, while the SM City Lipa, Batangas is scheduled to begin operations this September.
 
Mr. Sy said the company has earmarked 7 billion this year for the construction of the new malls. Out of this total, he said P5 billion would be sourced through borrowing, while the rest would be coming from internally generated cash.

Barring any construction glitches, the opening of the SM Mall of Bacolod would be the company’s sixth new mall this year – the most number of new malls that the company opened in a single year. Earlier this year, the mall operator inaugurated SM City Sta. Rosa in Laguna, and SM City Clark in Pampanga.

The opening of the new malls is expected to increase SM Prime total gross floor area to more than 3.5 million square meters. To date, the company’s 25 malls have a total gross floor area of 3.3 million square meters.

SM Prime opened three new malls last year, including SM City San Lazaro in Manila, SM Supercenter Valenzuela, and SM Supercenter in Molino, Bacoor, Cavite.

Aside from the new malls, SM Prime is also scheduled to complete this year Annex 3 of its first mall, SM North Edsa in Quezon City.

SM Prime earlier said it intends to build four to five malls annually for the next three years in 14 locations including, among others, Marikina, Prañaque, Muntinlupa, Bulacan, Tarlac, Laguna, and Pangasinan.

Higher rental revenues, coupled with strong cinema ticket sales boosted SM Prime’s net income for the first three months of the year.

The company’s first-quarter net income jumped to P1.34 billion this year from P1.24 billion.

SM Prime’s gross revenues grew by 15% to P2.85 billion for the first quarter of this year, from P2.49 billion during the same quarter last year. Rental revenues increased to P2.35 billion due to the rentals from new SM Supermalls opened during the second half of last year, and the first quarter of 2006.