SM Investments Corp. (SM) reported net income 9 percent higher in the first half to P18.1 billion from P16.6 billion in the same period last year.

Consolidated revenues rose 12 percent to P204.9 billion in the first half from P183.2 billion in the same period last year.

“We are encouraged by the results of the first half, driven by the strong performance of retail and property, particularly the residential business. Our results show the strength of the economy and consumer sentiment but we remain vigilant about inflationary pressures.

We are optimistic that consumption will remain resilient,” SM President Frederic DyBuncio said.

The property business contributed the most to consolidated net income at 45 percent. This was followed by banks with 33 percent and retail with 22 percent.

SM Retail reported sustained growth in total sales of 10 percent to P145.0 billion, while net income rose 10 percent to P5.7 billion.

At end-June 2018, SM Retail had a total of 2,149 stores, comprising 61 THE SM STORES, 1,304 specialty stores, 55 SM Supermarkets, 49 SM Hypermarkets, 190 Savemore stores, 49 WalterMart stores and 441 Alfamart stores.

The Food Retail Group continued expansion in both urban and rural communities nationwide, adding nine mid-sized format Savemore stores, three SM Supermarkets and four WalterMart stores. Meanwhile, Alfamart increased its number of stores by 93 in the first half.

As of the first half, the total gross selling area of all 61 department stores stood at 783,650 square meters.

Revenues from SM Retail’s specialty retail stores grew 17 percent to P37.3 billion, in part driven by expansion and new formats such as Miniso, which had 55 stores at the end of the first half.

SM Prime Holdings reported consolidated net income of P16.6 billion in the first half of the year, up 16 percent. Consolidated revenues increased 15 percent to P49.8 billion from P43.3 billion in the same period last year.

Mall revenues which consist of rentals, cinema and event ticket sales and amusement revenues, accounted for 58 percent of total revenues and rose 12 percent to P28.7 billion in the first half. Mall rental revenues alone grew 13 percent to P24.5 billion from higher same store growth and increasing contribution from newly opened and expanded malls.

In the first half of 2018, SM Prime opened SM Center Imus in Cavite, SM City Urdaneta Central in Pangasinan and SM City Telabastagan in Pampanga, bringing the total Philippine operating malls to 70 and seven malls in China.

SM Prime’s residential group, which accounts for 34 percent of total revenues, recorded a 23 percent increase in revenue to P17.1 billion in the same period. High-rise housing projects in Metro Manila that were launched from 2015 to 2017 continue to drive the revenue growth of this segment. SMDC’s reservation sales surged 25 percent to P34.5 billion in the first half.

SM Prime’s other business segments led by hotels and convention centers and the commercial properties group posted a 10 percent increase in revenues to P4.1 billion in the first half.

BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO) reported its first half net income at P13.1 billion. Excluding the impact of Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS9), which was implemented early this year on the investment portfolio of BDO Life and the ongoing expansion of One Network Bank, net income would have increased by 13 percent.

Net interest income rose 19 percent to almost P46.0 billion. Customer loans increased 20 to P1.9 trillion while total deposits expanded by 17 percent to P2.3 trillion, supported by the 14 percent hike in low-cost current account and savings account deposits.

China Banking Corp. reported net income at P3.6 billion for the first half. Recurring income grew 15 percent to P13.3 billion, driven by sustained growth in core businesses.

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