MANILA, Nov. 4 (PNA) — Philippine conglomerate SM Investments Corporation (SMIC) grew its profit by 7 percent in the first nine months of 2015 due to higher contribution from banking, property and retail units.
Its consolidated net income reached Php19.4 billion in January to September from Php18.2 billion last year.
SMIC’s consolidated revenues also surged 7 percent to Php206.2 billion from Php193.2 billion.
Banks accounted for 40 percent of the conglomerate’s consolidated earnings, property 39 percent and retail 21 percent.
“Our strong results year-to-date reflect our ongoing focus on delivering footprint expansion across the country and on driving cost competitiveness in all our core businesses,” SMIC President Harley T. Sy said.
BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO) booked a 5-percent increase in net income to Php17.6 billion on higher customer loans and total deposits.
The third-quarter results reflect the completion of BDO’s acquisition of One Network Bank, the largest rural bank in Mindanao, in July, adding over Php20 billion to BDO’s total loans and deposits.
Consolidated net income of property unit SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) rose 70 percent to Php22.9 billion driven by growth in revenues from retail and commercial spaces and housing group’s reservation sales.
Retail operations under SM Retail Inc. reported sustained growth in total sales of 6.5 percent to Php145.3 billion, while net income rose 21 percent to Php4.6 billion.
At end-September 2015, SM Retail had a total of 294 stores, comprising 51 The SM Stores, 41 SM Supermarkets, 43 SM Hypermarkets, 130 Savemore stores and 29 WalterMart stores.
The SM Food Retail Group (SM Markets) added 20 new stores, as it continued to expand in both urban and rural communities in various parts of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
SM Markets also recently invested in the minimart business with Alfamart, a highly successful minimart operator in Indonesia, and forged partnerships with Waltermart and Citymalls to further facilitate its provincial growth.
Acquisition of existing chains of stores is another part of its growth strategy, the latest of which was the acquisition of three stores of Cherry Foodarama. (PNA)