Strong consumer spending helps SM Investments grow H1 profit to P42.6B

Apart from steady contributions from its retail, banking, and real estate segments, SM Investments’ portfolio investments such as 2GO are also seeing strong growth

MANILA, Philippines – SM Investments, the parent firm of the Sy family’s empire, booked a P42.6-billion profit in the first half of 2025 as its core businesses saw steady growth.

In a briefing on Wednesday, August 6, SM Investments reported its first half net income grew 6% from the same period last year, while its consolidated revenues also climbed 6% to P301.4 billion.

The Sy-owned firm’s total assets grew 2% to P1.7 trillion.

Its retail segment contributed 15% of net income, while banking pitched in half and real estate arm SM Prime brought in 28%. (READ: SM Prime books record P24.5-billion profit in H1 2025)

Timothy Daniels, SM Investments’ head of investor relations and sustainability, attributed the steady growth to strong economic growth and low inflation, which helped encourage consumer spending.

The Philippine economy grew 5.5% in the second quarter, with consumer spending growing 5.5% due to slower inflation.

Daniels also noted that the top line of SM’s retail business went up 8% to P211.8 billion, while net income grew 10%.

He said both department stores and supermarkets saw an increased volume in sales. According to Daniels, SM department stores saw a jump in transaction count and basket size, or the number of products purchased in one transaction.

Basket sizes in supermarkets stayed relatively the same, but people were purchasing more often.

“What we really benefited from was this pickup in discretionary spending, positive consumer sentiment. But we also benefited from the opening of the school year beginning in the second quarter, and that recent set of results, everybody going back to school, their kids need clothes, they need shoes, they need stationery. There’s a lot of spending that goes into the back-to-school period,” Daniels explained.

SM’s food retail business also grew 8% on the back of higher volumes, store expansion, and stable margin growth.

Portfolio investments

Meanwhile, SM Investments’ portfolio investments pitched in 7% as its geothermal business contributed 35% to the total portfolio income, while logistics and travel arm 2GO contributed 16%.

SM Investments president and chief executive officer Frederic DyBuncio noted that all of 2GO’s southbound ships from Manila to areas in the Visayas and Mindanao are full. 

“In fact, we’ve been having to push back some of the containers because of lack of space on our ships. We move a lot of vehicles. We move a lot of cargo from FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) accounts,” he said.

DyBuncio added that 2GO’s ships were recently upgraded to look more like cruise ships, with facilities such as karaoke rooms, as well as shops like Watsons and Goldilocks.

The Goldilocks bakeshop chain is another business that SM Investments hopes to grow, with DyBuncio noting that there is room for expansion in the Visayas and Mindanao.

SM Investments acquired a majority stake in Goldilocks in 2021 after purchasing a 34% slice of the company in 2018. (READ: SM Investments to acquire majority stake in Goldilocks)

“In fact, in our 2GO ships, we carry a lot of Goldilocks products. By the time the ship docks, the Goldilocks products, ubos lahat (they’re sold out),” DyBuncio said.

The Sy-owned firm hopes to focus on growing Goldilocks domestically before tapping other markets, and has since focused on baked goods instead of its food items. – Rappler.com