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THE
Philippines’ largest mall builder and operator said
earnings last year rose on increased rental revenues
brought about by three new shopping centers it opened
and expanded in 2007. Ticket sales at its cinemas,
especially those located at its new malls, also helped
boost profit.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH),
controlled by mall tycoon Henry Sy, reported a
10-percent rise in net profit to P6 billion in 2007 from
P5.4 billion a year earlier, bolstered by a 16-percent
increase in gross revenues amounting to P15.3 billion.
In a statement Friday, the
publicly-listed company said that rental revenues
contributed the largest to its coffers, climbing by 17
percent to P12.8 billion compared to P11.0 billion in
2006.
Since new malls added 3506 cinema seats
to the company’s existing 119,320 capacity, cinema
ticket sales increased by 15 percent to P1.8 billion.
Ticket sales were also helped by the popularity of its
3D-capable IMAX Theatre as well as the showing of
blockbuster movies.
Meanwhile, the company’s income from
operations rose to P8.7 billion, up 14.0 percent from
P7.7 billion in 2006.
Last year, SMPH opened SM City Bacolod,
with a gross floor area (GFA) of 61,413 square meters (sqm);
SM City Taytay, with a GFA of 91,920 sqm; and SM
Supercenter Muntinlupa, with a GFA of 53,986 sqm. The
company also expanded its malls in SM City Pampanga, SM
City Cebu and SM Mall of Asia.
As of end-2007, SM Prime’s 30 malls
nationwide, 13 of which are in Metro Manila, had a
combined GFA of 3.9 million sqm, with an average daily
pedestrian count of 2.5 million.
For 2008, the company plans to open
three new malls and expand two of its existing malls,
for an estimated capital expenditure of P6.0 billion.
The new malls to be opened are the SM Supercenter
Rosales in Pangasinan; SM City Baliuag in Bulacan; and
SM City Marikina. SM City Fairview and SM Megamall are
scheduled for expansion.
For its part, Ayala Land Inc., the
Philippines’
biggest real-estate developer, reported a 13-percent
increase in net income for 2007 to P4.4 billion from
P3.9 billion the previous year on the back of a
significant margin expansion in its key business lines.
However, consolidated revenues slightly
rose to P25.7 billion from P25.6 billion in 2006. The
company said the growth was tempered by the accelerated
residential revenue bookings in 2006 following the
adoption of a standardized revenue recognition policy
and the absence of BPO leasing revenues from the sale of
PeopleSupport building in the fourth quarter of 2006.
As a result, operating revenues contributed by ALI’s
five core and three support businesses amounted to only
P22.9 billion in 2007 from P23.6 billion 2006.
Shopping centers, a major segment of
ALI’s operations, still reported a 5 percent rise in
revenues to P4.2 billion in 2007 despite an explosion
that took place in Glorietta 2 mall last October.
The net operating income (NOI) of
shopping centers dropped 1 percent to P2.4 billion
following the absence of one quarter’s earnings from the
high-margin Glorietta 2 mall.
Its residential development business
accounted for the bulk of ALI’s revenues at P13.0
billion or 50 percent of total revenues. Corporate
business generated P993 million in revenues; strategic
landbank management made P373 million; and the Visayas-Mindanao
operations contributed P176 million to total revenues.
*****
STOCK MARKET OUTLOOK
n LAST
week: Local share prices fell 1.60-percent week-on- week
to 3241.13 as investors took advantage of the previous
week’s rally to take profit on prevailing concerns of a
US
economic slowdown. The higher than expected inflation
registered in January and the revelation made by the
government official Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada Jr. on the
controversial ZTE deal also kept investors on the
sidelines.
n THIS
week: Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at
BDO-EPCIB, said last week’s close continues to suggest
sideways movements for the new week or within the
3,200–3,300 levels.
For its part, AB Capital Online
Securities Inc. said the outlook for the local equities
market remains clouded by worries of a
US
recession and its impact on the global economy. At the
same time, the market is also coming under heavy
pressure from the local political scene and a rising
trend in inflation.
“Risk aversion will continue to be the
name of the game with investors opting for safer
investments. Although there seems to be some bargain
hunting at the current levels, share prices are expected
to remain volatile as no one really knows how bad things
can get. Technically, the market has entered into a bear
market last month as long-term sell signals were
generated by downside moving average crossovers on the
daily charts,” it stated in its weekly outlook report.
n STOCKS
to watch: April Lynn Lee-Tan, head of research at
CitisecOnline.com, said from stocks with positive
earnings surprise, she is shifting focus to defensive
issues and values in light of the cautious sentiment
prevailing in the market.
“Defensive issues are defined as
companies whose sales are purely domestically driven.
Defensive stocks we like include Globe, PLDT, Aboitiz
Power, PNOC-EDC, FirstGen, Meralco, Manila Water and
Petron,” she said. Honey Madrilejos-Reyes |
