Interim dividend at 3 sen
Petaling Jaya, 28 August 2024: Paramount Corporation Berhad (Paramount) will give out an interim dividend of 3 sen per share, similar to that of last year, having staged a strong comeback in the second quarter of 2024 as it scored sales of RM537 million, its highest ever in a quarter. The dividend is payable on 26 September to shareholders whose names appear on the record of depositors on 11 September 2024.
Paramount’s RM1.6 billion worth of launches in 2Q2024 and the encouraging sales had mitigated the lower performance of the preceding quarter that was marked by fewer products on the market (due to delayed launches and high take up rates of earlier launches) and slower work progress.
In the second quarter of 2024, Paramount achieved a profit before tax (PBT) of RM36.6 million (2Q2023: RM36.8 million) and profit attributable to shareholders of RM24.2 million (2Q2023: RM24.1 million). The profits were on the back of group revenue of RM232.9 million (2Q2023: RM241.6 million).
The property segment contributed RM220.7 million in revenue to the Group in the second quarter (2Q2023:RM232.3 million) with the top three contributors being Sejati Lakeside 2 in Selangor, Paramount Palmera in Penang and Berkeley Uptown in Selangor.
The lower contribution partly arose from the completion of three big projects which were accounted for in the corresponding quarter last year, but that was mitigated by the encouraging response to The Ashwood launched in May 2024. Despite the lower revenue, PBT was RM41.0 million, at par with 2Q2023, mainly attributable to savings from the finalisation of some project costings.
Paramount Group CEO Jeffrey Chew said, “We are confident that our launches of RM1.7 billion as at 30 June 2024 (RM81 million properties was launched in 1Q2024 and RM1.6 billion in 2Q2024), will yield strong sales and contribute positively to the Group’s financial performance.”
He said the value of the Group’s property launches in the first half of 2024 was more than double that of its full year 2023 launches of RM886 million.
“Our 2024 launches are high quality products at premium locations where we have had presence for several years.
“Our RM1.6 billion worth of launches in the second quarter comprise The Ashwood (high rise condominiums, duplexes and low-rise villas at the prestigious U Thant enclave in Kuala Lumpur), Phase 2 of The Atera (a transit-oriented development project in Petaling Jaya that is only 400m to the Asia Jaya Light Rail Transit Station) and the final phase of Sejati Residences (three-storey strata link homes in Cyberjaya).
“Our six months sales of RM638 million have also surpassed that of the first six months of 2023. The Ashwood that was launched in May 2024 has contributed to more than 60% of the sales. We are confident that the sales momentum will continue for The Ashwood and other projects,” said Chew.
“In the second half of 2024, we target to launch four more projects (including new phases of existing projects) with a projected gross development value (GDV) of RM700 million. Expected launches in the third quarter of 2024 include Greenwoods Salak Perdana Senna in Sepang, comprising semi-detached cluster townhouses,” he added.
The Group’s unbilled sales stood at RM1.4 billion as at 30 June 2024 while the Group’s undeveloped land stood at 416.9 acres.
Coworking
Paramount’s coworking segment showed significantly higher revenue for 2Q2024 at RM5.4 million (2Q2023: RM3.3 million) with higher revenue from Tropicana Gardens and the opening of new spaces at Ken TTDI and The Five but recorded a lower PBT of RM0.3 million (2Q2023: RM0.5 million) due to losses recorded by the two new spaces.
