MANILA - Henry Sy-led conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) expects to exceed its 12% profit growth target this year after posting a 14% jump in net income during the first half, owing to strong retail and real estate sales.

"We will exceed our target this year," SMIC chief finance officer Jose Sio told reporters Thursday, noting that they see strong consumer spending in the remaining part of the year.

"We typically earn 60% of total earnings in the second half," he added.

In the first 6 months of 2009, SMIC's net income rose to P7.4 billion from P6.5 billion in the same months last year as revenues grew 13% to P74.5 billion from P65.8 billion.

SMIC President Harley Sy said that most of their businesses performed well despite the global economic crisis.

"Our results for the first 6 months of the year stayed on track," he said.

The retail and property groups continued to be SMIC's main growth drivers, while the mall business was a steady source of income. The banks have also shown improvement as they continued to benefit from the integration of past acquisitions and increased market penetration.

Among the core businesses, retail merchandising contributed the most to the company's earnings, with a share of 39%. This segment posted a net income of P2.4 billion in the first half of the year, up 42% from last year's P1.7 billion, helped by cost efficiency measures, operational improvements, and store expansion.

The next biggest contributors to SMIC's earnings were the shopping malls and banks, accounting for 27% and 22% of the total, respectively.

The contribution of SMIC's real estate business, meanwhile, increased significantly at 12%.

Revenues from real estate operations during the first half increased by 37% to P4.4 billion, while net income increased by 80% to P1.2 billion.

Earnings largely came from residential arm SM Development Corp., followed by the leasing activities of the commercial properties group, as well as the resort projects of Costa del Hamilo (Hamilo)--SMIC’s tourism vehicle--which is developing the Pico de Loro Cove project in Nasugbu, Batangas.