SM Prime says profit may increase by 9% this year

SM Prime says profit may increase by 9% this year
By Rocel C. Felix
The Philippine Star 04/27/2006

SM Prime Holdings Inc., the largest Philippine shopping mall operator, said profit may rise as much as nine percent this year as it opens new outlets.

Net income attributable to shareholders of the company may increase to P5.4 billion from P4.97 billion, president Hans Sy said at the company’s annual meeting yesterday. Profit rose 7.6 percent last year from P4.62 billion.

The company will pay on June 20 a 2005 dividend of 25 centavos a share, compared with 23.3 centavos the year before, vice chairman Jose Cusia said. The dividend will be paid to stockholders of record on May 26.

SM Prime earlier this year said it planned to open as many as six malls in 2006. It opened its 23rd in February and plans to open the Philippines’ biggest shopping center, the 386,000-square meter Mall of Asia, in May.

Mall of Asia, originally scheduled to open at the end of last year, is due to start operations in May. It will have at least P1.7 billion in annual sales, or about 11 percent of the company’s estimated revenue, when fully occupied in 2007, according to the Manila unit of Macquarie Securities.

SM Prime will spend P6.5 billion this year, when it will start building four new malls, vice president Jeffrey Lim said. That compares with P9 billion last year. The company plans to borrow P4 to P5 billion he said.

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200604270702.htm