SY-LED SM Prime Holdings, Inc. was one of the most actively traded stocks last week following the release of its first-quarter (Q1) earnings report and declaration of cash dividends.
Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed that SM Prime was the eighth most traded stock during the week, with a value turnover of P1.16 billion from a total of 48.71 million shares traded from April 25 to May 2.
Financial markets were closed on May 1 in observance of Labor Day.
The property developer’s shares rose by 6.1% week on week, outperforming the 1.7% gain of the property index and the 2.3% increase of the PSE index (PSEi).
Year on year, SM Prime shares declined by 13.4%, steeper than the property sector’s 6.7% contraction and the PSEi’s 3.5% drop. Year to date, the stock price has fallen by 26.4%.
Analysts attributed SM Prime’s active trading last week to the company’s positive disclosures.
Jash Matthew M. Baylon, an analyst at First Resources Management and Securities, said in an e-mail that SM Prime’s movement was mainly driven by its first-quarter report and forward-looking guidance, which boosted investor optimism.
“SM Prime’s strong move last week is based on its first quarter of 2025 earnings report which is up by 11% to P11.7 billion fueled by its robust malls and residential business segments,” said Mr. Baylon.
Mr. Baylon also said that SM Prime announced a dividend of P0.48 per share, with a yield of 2.1%, which further supported the stock’s strong price action.
“In addition, the forward-looking guidance of the firm, based on its first-quarter performance, also added optimism among investors as the firm showed confidence and potential growth for the rest of the year,” he added.
“Two things that made SM Prime active for the week. Aside from the lowering of interest rates by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the company reported a net income of P11.9 billion for the first three months of 2025, up 11%,” Jeff Radley C. See, head trader at Mercantile Securities Corp., said in an e-mail.
In a disclosure last week, SM Prime reported a consolidated attributable net income of P11.7 billion in the first quarter of 2025, up 11% from P10.5 billion in the same period last year. The double-digit growth was driven by steady revenue expansion, margin improvement, and disciplined cost management.
The company also posted a consolidated net income of P11.9 billion in the first quarter of 2025, up 11% from P10.7 billion in the same period last year.
Revenues likewise rose by 7% year on year to P32.8 billion from P30.7 billion, driven by higher rental income, revenue recognition from real estate sales, and other income sources.
“Our forecast for SM Prime’s full-year 2025 revenue is at P153.88 billion, up by 9.61% from last year, while the second-quarter revenue is projected at P37.28 billion, up by 9.62%,” Mr. Baylon said.
In a separate disclosure, the company’s board approved the declaration of a regular cash dividend amounting to 25%, plus an additional 5% special dividend, of the company’s 2024 net income. The total dividend amounts to P0.48 per share, with a record date of May 14 and payment date of May 28. The declared cash dividends total approximately P13.86 billion.
At its most recent Monetary Board meeting, the BSP continued its rate-cutting cycle, delivering a widely expected 25-basis-point cut. This brought the target reverse repurchase rate down to 5.5% from 5.75%.
Rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were also reduced to 5% and 6%, respectively.
“For next week, we expect SM Prime’s stock to trade within the range of P23–P24.50 ahead of the upcoming ex-dividend date. We consider P23 as the support level, confluencing with the 50-day EMA (exponential moving average), and P24.50 as the resistance level,” said Mr. Baylon.
Mr. See gave support levels at P24 and P23.25 per share, while resistance levels are at P25.30 and P26 per share. “The stock might revisit its support levels before trending upwards.” — Lourdes O. Pilar