SY-LED property developer SM Prime Holdings, Inc. plans to expand its solar energy capacity this year as part of its sustainability initiatives.
The company aims to add 20 solar rooftop projects to optimize power consumption and enhance resilience against fluctuating energy costs, SM Prime said in a regulatory filing on Monday.
SM Prime currently operates 47 malls and properties with solar installations, with a total capacity of 63 megawatts.
In 2024, the company generated 27.6 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of clean energy, marking a 49% increase from 2023.
The continued rollout of solar panels across SM malls and developments has reduced its reliance on traditional power sources, cutting carbon emissions by 19,140.6 tons.
“Expanding our use of solar energy enhances the sustainability of our developments. This initiative also enables us to support the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) of the Department of Energy,” SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim said.
The ILP helps stabilize the grid during peak electricity demand by allowing distribution utilities and electric cooperatives to request large power consumers to use their own generator sets and power sources.
Participants include malls, large businesses, and factories with significant standby capacity, ensuring sufficient power supply when demand exceeds available resources.
Meanwhile, SM Prime’s parent company, SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), said it remains bullish on the country’s growth, driven by rising consumption.
“We believe that growth in the Philippines will continue to be consumption-driven. Seventy percent of our gross domestic product is consumption-driven, and our business is right within that footprint,” SMIC Executive Vice-President for Treasury, Finance, and Planning Erwin G. Pato said in an e-mail statement.
“Our offerings in retail, integrated property development, and financial services will continue to be key players in this consumption-driven growth,” he added.
SMIC recently announced a P60-billion share buyback program, the largest in Philippine corporate history, saying the conglomerate is “undervalued.”
“We’re having this buyback because we believe in our company and its growth potential,” Mr. Pato said.
In 2024, SMIC’s net income rose 7% to P82.6 billion, while its retail arm, SM Retail Inc., posted a 5% increase in net income to P20.9 billion.
“We’re a proxy of the Philippine economy because of our scale and the communities we serve. With lower interest rates, we believe this will help our macroeconomics and could lead our economic managers to achieve our inflation rate target within the 2% to 4% range. If that happens, it suggests a strong tailwind for the consumer story,” Mr. Pato said.
On Monday, SM Prime shares declined by 1.47% or 35 centavos to P23.45 apiece, while SMIC stocks rose by 0.62% or P5 to P813 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
