SM Investments Corp. said it closed the first quarter of the year with an attributable profit of P20.1 billion, up 9 percent from P18.4 billion a year earlier.
Revenues grew 6 percent to P152.0 billion from P143.7 billion.
Frederic DyBuncio, SM Investments chief executive officer (CEO) and president, said in a statement the group is “encouraged by the positive start to 2025.”
“Consumer confidence remains good and our businesses are well-positioned to serve in all categories. Positive sentiment is supported by falling inflation, which was at 1.4 percent in April,” he said.
Banking accounted for 51 percent of the bottomline, followed by property at 29 percent, retail at 14 percent and portfolio investments at 6 percent.
Banking unit BDO Unibank Inc. posted an attributable income of P19.7 billion, up 6.49 percent from P18.5 billion in the year-earlier period, supported by double-digit growth in loans and a solid performance in fee income.
China Banking Corp. posted a 10 percent increase in attributable income to P6.5 billion from P5.91 billion.
The realty business under SM Prime Holdings Inc. on the other hand posted an attributable net income of P11.7 billion, up 11 percent from P10.5 billion in the year-earlier period, driven by steady revenue growth, margin improvement and disciplined cost management.
In the retail business, unit SM Retail Inc., posted a reported profit of P3.6 billion, up 18 percent at P3.6 billion from P3.1 billion last year. Revenues grew up 7 percent to P100.3 billion from P93.5 billion.
“Revenues for food retail increased 8 percent to P61.5 billion, driven by improved margins in SM Markets. In non-food retail, revenues of the department store business rose 6 percent to P23.5 billion,” SM Investments said.
“Revenues for specialty retail expanded by 7 percent to P21.8 billion, driven by spending across all categories. Discretionary spending was strongest in the health & beauty and fashion categories,” it added.
“We continue to monitor uncertainties in the global macroeconomic environment, but remain positive about the Philippines. SM remains focused on serving and enabling our local customers and stakeholders,” DyBuncio said.
