Paramount resilient in 3Q2024, declares 3 sen interim dividend
PETALING JAYA, 27 November 2024: Paramount Corporation Berhad (Paramount) achieved a revenue of RM273.5 million in the third quarter of 2024 (3Q2023: RM266.8 million) and a profit before tax (PBT) of RM32.0 million (3Q2023: RM31.7 million), which were marginally higher year-on-year by 3% and 1% respectively, primarily driven by the improvements in the property division.
The Group’s profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the company for 3Q2024, however, was lower at RM16.4 million compared to the RM18.9 million recorded a year ago, mainly due to the higher tax expenses.
Paramount Group CEO Jeffrey Chew said the property segment had performed satisfactorily in the third quarter, achieving its highest quarterly revenue for the year. The improvements were underpinned by the higher sales and the more advanced stage of completion of certain projects.
“The three projects anchoring the 3Q2024 revenue were Sejati Lakeside 2 landed residential in Cyberjaya, Paramount Palmera industrial park in Bukit Minyak, Penang, and Utropolis Batu Kawan mixed development in Batu Kawan, also in Penang,” he said.
Property segment revenue for 3Q2024 was RM260.1 million, 1% higher than the same quarter in previous year of RM256.5 million while PBT was 4% higher at RM39.3 million (3Q2023: RM37.7 million).
“We launched our largest project of the year in May 2024, that is The Ashwood at the upscale enclave in Kuala Lumpur known as the ‘Embassy Row’, with a gross development value (GDV) of RM781 million, boosting the total GDV of properties launched for the first nine months to RM2.0 billion, which is a new milestone,” said Chew.
“We are pleased to say the take-up rate of The Ashwood was 66% as at end September and has reached 72% today,” he added.
The Ashwood comprises freehold luxury condos and villas with well curated facilities and stunning views of either the Kuala Lumpur city or Royal Selangor Golf Course. It is a mere 5 minutes to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre KLCC and 7 minutes to Tun Razak Exchange.
Chew also said the property segment sold RM993 million worth of properties in the first nine months of 2024, 9% higher than the same period last year of RM909 million.
“The top three developments that contributed the most to the first nine months of 2024 sales were the newly launched The Ashwood in Kuala Lumpur, The Atera in Petaling Jaya and Bukit Banyan in Sungai Petani.”
“We are optimistic the sales traction for our projects will continue for the rest of the year. We will soon be launching Uptown Residences 2 of Berkeley Uptown in Klang, the second phase of serviced apartments and park villas designed for multi-generational living with a projected GDV of RM163 million. Uptown Residences 2 has received provisional GreenRE Gold certification, highlighting Paramount’s commitment to greening its projects.
“There is also growing interest in our Atwater office towers and retail units in Petaling Jaya that was just completed in 3Q2024, which are also GreenRE certified,” added Chew.
The Group’s unbilled sales stood at RM1.5 billion as at 30 September 2024.
Moving into the final quarter of the year, Paramount directors expect the Group’s financial performance for the financial year ending 31 December 2024 to be satisfactory.
The Board of Directors declared a single tier second interim dividend of 3.0 sen per share for financial year ending 2024, totalling the dividend for the current financial year to 6.0 sen (9M2023: 3.0 sen). The dividend is payable on 26 December 2024 to those whose names are on record of depositors on 11 December 2024.
Coworking
Meanwhile, the Group’s coworking business revenue accelerated to RM5.6 million for 3Q2024, 62% higher than the same period last year, with higher contribution from three coworking spaces in Petaling Jaya (Tropicana Gardens, extended) and Kuala Lumpur (Ken TTDI and The Five), and the improved performance of the segment’s design and build business, Scalable Malaysia, which showed 163% in revenue improvement year on year.
Investment and Others
The investment and others segment recorded 15% revenue growth at RM8.3 million in 3Q2024 (3Q2023:RM7.2 million) mainly driven by higher revenue from the Mercure Kuala Lumpur Glenmarie, a 4-star hotel located in Utropolis Glenmarie, Shah Alam, and Dewakan, the two- Michelin starred fine dining restaurant at Naza Tower, Kuala Lumpur.
“I take this opportunity to share the excellent news that Dewakan was awarded two Michelin stars once again and remains the only restaurant in Malaysia with two Michelin stars. At the recent
ceremony in November, Dewakan also created waves as the first Malaysian restaurant to receive
the Michelin Green Star, showing the world how fine dining and sustainability can go hand in
hand,” he said.
Chew said that Paramount’s third quarter results has helped the Group catch up with its nine-month performance that were affected by deferred launches earlier in the year. The Group’s revenue stood at RM679.1 million (9M2023: RM702.9 million) while PBT was RM85.6 million (9M2023: RM91.9 million). The Group’s profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the company for nine months was RM48.3 million (9M2023: RM54.6 million).
Captions:
- Jeffrey Chew: “Paramount Property had performed satisfactorily in third quarter, marginally higher than corresponding quarter last year.”
- The Atera situated next to the Asia Jaya MRT station in Petaling Jaya enjoys a provisional GreenRE Silver certification with smart home systems, solar powered common areas and rainwater harvesting. The project was one of the top three contributors of Paramount’s 9M2024 sales, the other two being The Ashwood and Bukit Banyan.
