SM Supermalls, the mall leasing arm of listed developer and mall operator SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH), declared 2024 a “good year” for the company amid indications of a positive performance in the fourth quarter.
SM Supermalls President Steven Tan said he was “very happy” with the fourth-quarter performance of the country’s largest mall operator.
“November, we’ve been monitoring. [It] has never been this good. I mean, maybe it’s because of [the films] ‘Wicked’ or ‘Moana,’ or even ‘Hello, Love, Again,’ the malls are full of people,” Tan told reporters in an interview earlier this month, noting that the number of blockbuster films screened during the quarter boosted foot traffic in SM malls.
Tan projected continued good results this December due to the release of Disney film “Mufasa” and “Gladiator 2” and the release of Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) movies during the Christmas holidays.
“So I’m quite confident with this December performance,” Tan emphasized.
For the first nine months of 2024, SM Supermalls parent SMPH reported consolidated revenues from rent amounting to P57.24 billion, of which its mall segment contributed 85 percent. SMPH’s ultimate parent is Sy family-led SM Investments Corp. (SMIC).
SM Supermalls earlier announced it was planning to open at least three new malls and redevelop more than 10 projects next year.
This includes locations in Laoag, La Union and Zamboanga City.
It is also expanding its presence in China, with two new malls set to open next year and in 2027, both in Fujian province.
SM is continuously expanding its presence in China, with plans to open new SM malls on the outskirts of Xiamen, slated to open next year, and another one in Fuzhou in 2027.
The Sy-led mall operator is currently expanding the existing SM City Xiamen, with construction already at phase 4. The expanded Xiamen mall is slated for completion by end-2025.
Last week, Maybank Investment Banking Group named SM Supermalls’ parent SMIC as its top pick for the conglomerate sector in 2025, on expectations of further gains on the back of a continued improvement in the country’s macroeconomic environment.
Maybank said SMIC’s main subsidiaries, listed BDO Unibank,= Inc. and SMPH, would fare better next year with an anticipated recovery in consumer sentiment and demand.
BDO and SMPH were also Maybank’s top picks in the banking and property sectors, respectively.
“We may see better performance from SMPH’s residential side with our forecast 100 bps (basis points) interest rate cut next year,” it said.
Shares of SMPH last traded on Monday at P25.14 apiece, up by 35 centavos or 1.41 percent, while SMIC stocks closed up P17 at P900 each, amid a 2.01-percent advance for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.
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