SM Investments Corporation, one of the country’s biggest conglomerates, reported a 65 percent surge in net income to P38.5 billion last year from P23.4 billion in 2020.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the holding company of the Sy family said its consolidated revenues grew 9 percent to P428.1 billion in 2021 compared with P394.2 billion in the prior year.
“We saw a rebound in consumer spending in the run up to Christmas as restrictions across the country eased. This led to improved performance in our retail and mall units as our banks continued to deliver solid results,” SM Investments President and Chief Executive Officer Frederic C. DyBuncio said.
He added that, “It is our hope that the further easing of restrictions after the latest surge in COVID cases will lead to sustained recovery of the economy and our businesses as the country adjusts to living with the virus. We are committed to continue our expansion plans.”
Banking contributed 51 percent to SM’s net income with property accounting for 25 percent, retail contributing 17 percent, and portfolio investments adding the remaining 7 percent.
“We believe our portfolio investments have strong assets, synergies with our core businesses and enormous long-term growth potential,” DyBuncio said.
Among its portfolio investments, SM increased its ownership in Goldilocks Bakeshop Inc. to 74 percent and 2GO Group, Inc. to 53 percent in 2021.
SM Retail Inc., which consists of food and non-food stores, reported a 2 percent improvement in revenues to P303.9 billion from P296.8 billion in 2020 as net income jumpe 133 percent to P9.6 billion last year from P4.1 billion.
“The general improvement in profitability was largely due to sustained growth in sales particularly for the SM Stores and Specialty Stores,” SM said.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, SM continued to expand its retail footprint. THE SM STORE opened two new stores in 2021 in Caloocan and Camarines Norte. The food group, which includes SM Markets (SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket and Savemore), Alfamart, and WalterMart added 219 new stores in 2021.
By the end of the year, SM Retail added a total of 294 new stores across the entire portfolio for a total of 3,215 outlets, consisting of 68 The SM Stores, 1,539 specialty retail stores, 62 SM Supermarkets, 52 SM Hypermarkets, 214 Savemore, 73 WalterMart and 1,207 Alfamart stores.
SM Prime’s consolidated net income grew by 21 percent to P21.8 billion in 2021 from P18.0 billion in 2020. Consolidated revenues stood at P82.3 billion in 2021, at the same level as 2020.
BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO) recorded a net income of P42.8 billion in 2021 against P28.2 billion in 2020, an increase of 51 percent, while China Banking Corporation posted a 25 percent increase in net income to P15.1 billion.