SM shared observations made by respected stock market analysts such as Gilbert Lopez, head of research at Macquarie Capital Securities (Philippines), and Philippine Equity Partners analyst Russ Toribio.
Lopez underscored the sequential improvement in earnings across all of SM Investments’ major businesses in retail, banking, and property.
He also highlighted SM Retail’s net profit of P4.5 billion, which was a 49 percent quarter-on-quarter growth.
The standout performer was SM Retail’s health & beauty segment, which saw a 16 percent year-on-year growth in both the second quarter and the first half.
Philippine Equity Partners' Toribio echoed a positive outlook, noting that first-half gains will carry over as “a stronger second half lies ahead.” “[T]here was notable recovery in consumer spending in discretionary items such as fashion and home in the second quarter,” he said.
Fashion and home goods saw a rebound in the second quarter, with fashion sales rising by 10.5 percent year-on-year, driven by back-to-school shopping. Home segment sales grew by 4.6 percent, likely due to warmer weather.
The drop in inflation, from 4.4 percent in July to 3.3 percent in August, has increased consumer purchasing power, which Toribio expects will further drive growth in SM’s retail and leisure sectors.
