diff --git a/pkgs/tools/text/smu/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/text/smu/default.nix
index a80a6d3d799b..50bceb4fcb34 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/text/smu/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/text/smu/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   # _FORTIFY_SOURCE requires compiling with optimization (-O)
   NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = "-O";
 
-  makeFlags = [ "DESTDIR=$(out)" "PREFIX=" ];
+  makeFlags = [
+    "PREFIX=${placeholder "out"}"
+  ];
 
   meta = with lib; {
     description = "simple markup - markdown like syntax";