SM president and CEO Frederic DyBuncio said they’re weighing the sale of their 34.1 percent stake in Atlas Consolidated Mining & Development Corp.—considered their first major investment outside banking, real estate and retail when they first entered the firm in 2011.
“That’s something which we’ll be discussing at the board level whether we want to take out Atlas from the portfolio or not. But that’s something which could happen in the near future,” he told reporters during their 2025 earnings briefing on Monday.
Big picture
DyBuncio, who is also the chair of Atlas, said the group is still weighing its next moves, but the sale highlights how SM’s strategy has evolved from the earliest days of its diversification push.
It comes as SM faces rising risks to its core businesses from a slowing economy and external shocks, including escalating conflict in the Middle East that threaten a key source of overseas Filipino remittances.
“We still remain cautiously optimistic that we can deliver the growth that we expect to do in 2026 and it really depends on how long this war lasts,” DyBuncio said.
No synergy with SM’s core business
DyBuncio said Atlas is an “outlier” in its family of non-core investments, or portfolio companies, which include logistics giant 2GO Group, energy firm Philippine Geothermal Production Co., NEO Group office buildings in Bonifacio Global City and gambling unit Belle Corp.
These firms accounted for 6 percent of the group’s record high profit of P90.5 billion in 2025.
“There’s no synergy with the rest of the group,” DyBuncio added.
Atlas operates one of the Philippines’ largest copper mines in Toledo, Cebu through Carmen Copper, producing copper concentrate with gold and other by-products. It also holds a stake in the Berong nickel project in Palawan.
SM ranks as the second-largest Atlas shareholder behind the Ramos family, founders of National Book Store.
Timing is right
DyBuncio said the current market makes it a good time to exit Atlas, a stake originally taken as an opportunistic deal roughly 15 years ago.
“That opportunity came up because there was a fund in Singapore who was selling their shares so the family decided to buy those shares,” he said.
Rising metal prices, and stock prices, offer a rare window to restructure its portfolio.
“With gold being as high as — it’s actually reached $5,300 — it’s probably a good time to dispose of our shares in Atlas. That’s our intention, but we don’t know if it’s going to happen,” DyBuncio explained.
Atlas shares rose 0.32 percent to P9.32 on Monday, adding to gains of over 124 percent in the past 12 months, lifting its market value above P33 billion.
DyBuncio said SM built up its Atlas stake over several years and the stake sale would likely be done at a “profit” over their original investment.
Mine profitability slumps
Despite strong metal prices, DyBuncio said Atlas was an underperform in their portfolio group.
“We started stripping the mine to just to be able to get more resources off the ground and that stripping will end sometime probably July or August this year,” he said.
Stripping refers to removing surface rock to expose deeper ore, which can can temporarily lower output and raise costs.
Atlas’ 2024 earnings swung to a P231 million net loss from a P1.12 billion profit a year earlier amid higher costs and weaker output. Its net income during the nine-month period of 2025 also plunged 81 percent to P218 million despite stronger copper and gold prices.
What’s next?
DyBuncio said the group hopes to decide soon on the future of its Atlas stake, though the question of a potential buyer remains open.
Members of the Sy family also privately own a significant stake in the Tampakan copper-gold project in South Cotabato, widely described as Southeast Asia’s largest untapped deposit.
The massive mining site, which remains undeveloped, is among the assets being considered for infusion into the family-controlled shell company called Dominion Holdings.
Asked whether the Atlas shares could be sold to the Sys, DyBuncio was noncommittal.
“Maybe,” he said.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
