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PARAMOUNT Corporation Berhad (Paramount) posted RM5.024 million net profit for the quarter of the year from RM2.297 million a year ago.
Its revenue increased to RM168.1 million as compared to RM151.8 million posted in 1Q21.
Its property division for 1Q22 revenue was RM163.9 million, a 10% increase compared to that of the same period last year of RM149.6 million, which was driven by ongoing development projects such as ATWATER in Petaling Jaya, Sejati Lakeside in Cyberjaya, and Bukit Banyan in Sungai Petani.
On the back of the higher revenue coupled with the realisation of cost savings from certain completed and near-completion projects, the coworking division recorded a lower loss before tax (LBT) of RM0.3 million compared to a LBT of RM1.1 million in 1Q2021.
Paramount Group CEO Jeffrey Chew said, “The group has delivered an overall improvement in revenue and earnings as the country moves into endemicity.”
“The improved financial performance in 1Q2022 compared to the same period last year was mainly due to a higher profit contribution from the property division with fewer operational disruptions this quarter compared with the corresponding period last year.”
Six projects (including new phases of existing projects) are targeted for launch throughout the year with an estimated gross development value of RM1.3 billion.
Among the new projects lined up are the Arinna Kemuning Utama smart homes in Shah Alam; The Atera, a transit-oriented development project in Petaling Jaya situated next to the Asia Jaya Light Rail Transit Station; and Sejati Lakeside 2 landed homes in Cyberjaya.
“Despite the recent OPR hike of 25 basis points, the prevailing low-interest environment remains conducive for property demand. Malaysians with financial means will still look to property as a hedge against inflation.”
“With rising prices of properties, especially in established urban areas where land is getting scarce, coupled with the increase in building material costs, there are opportunities for capital gains in the long term,” said Chew.
“That said, we are mindful that the recovery of the property sector could be dampened by uncertainties related to the COVID-19 virus, any aggressive interest rate hike, the rising cost of living and lower spending power,” he concluded.
Going against the grain can be challenging, especially in today’s market conditions, but Paramount Property Development Sdn Bhd is not afraid to do the unconventional. Instead of demolishing the 20-storey Ambassador Row Hotel Suites by Lanson Place in Jalan Ampang, it decided to keep the structure and renamed it The Atrium.
“We repurposed and rejuvenated the building. We are keeping the structure but we tore down all the mechanical and electrical systems and piping, replacing them with new ones. We are even changing the lift system and the facade. In many European countries, it is common to rejuvenate a building and change the facade,” CEO (property division) Chee Siew Pin tells City & Country.
“As we are not tearing down the whole building, there is not much hacking and pollution involved, and there is less wastage, which helps reduce the carbon footprint as well. We also kept the sky terraces [on the 6th and 13th floors] where many others may have chosen to cover them up and put in more units. It is Paramount Property’s take on sustainable development — repurpose and rejuvenate to meet modern sensibilities, accentuated by a new, artistic form,” he says.
Chee, a trained engineer, recently took the helm at Paramount Property, which has been developing projects since 2005, and is no stranger to property development. Prior to joining the company, he spent more than 11 years at Pantai Bayu Indah Sdn Bhd, a member of ParkCity Group in Miri, Sarawak. Before that, he worked with Impiana Group. His career has allowed him to gain experience in both the property development and hospitality industries.
“Because of my background in the hospitality industry, I always talk about branding… I look after master plans, and my portfolio is also in shopping malls, residential properties, hotels and offices. I like to do placemaking, bring the crowd in, carve out [the development] to serve the community and elevate the lives of the people,” he says.
“I am a people person. I go to the ground, listen to the staff and digest what they say. This is my management style. Also, as a manager, you cannot be too busy or you will not be able to empower the [heads of department] and groom the next generation. We must pass down our knowledge and skill so that they can continue to learn, and it is about sustainability.”
Development given a facelift
In rejuvenating The Atrium, which has a gross development value (GDV) of RM212 million, Paramount Property recycled the building materials as well as furnishings and fittings — some were donated to charitable homes and flood victims, and some were sold to budget hotels.
Furthermore, it allocated 30% to 35% of space to landscaping.
The Atrium offers 241 serviced apartments on a 0.95-acre plot. It was launched last November, and more than 80% of the units have been sold. Completion is 24 months from the signing of the sale and purchase agreement.
“The Atrium checks all the right boxes, with its prime location and views of the city skyline as well as its modern design, curated communal facilities and ample greenscapes. It is also competitively priced from RM1,010 psf, and our strategy has always been to launch good products at the right price points. The encouraging response to The Atrium has affirmed that this strategy works,” Chee says.
The serviced apartments — measuring 566 to 1,227 sq ft — offer 12 layouts with configurations of 1 bedroom + 1 study + 1 bathroom; 2 bedrooms +1 study + 2 bathrooms; as well as 2 bedrooms + 2 bathrooms. The units are furnished with electrical appliances and digital locksets. Each unit will have one parking bay but some of the larger units will have two.
Facilities will include a barbecue area, children’s playground, Jacuzzi, sky terrace, reading nook, yoga lounge, chill-out lounge and wading pool and an infinity pool. The indicative maintenance fee inclusive of the sinking fund is 50 sen psf.
“Our buyer profile is a roughly 65:35 mix of owners and investors. The majority — about 73% — are aged 25 to 45, and this matches our original target. About 3.5% are foreigners, whose children attend the international schools nearby,” Chee says.
The building’s core feature is an atrium, which Chee says allows more natural light and ventilation into the building.
The developer was allowed to build more floors but decided against it. “The company’s vision is to change lives and enrich the community for a better world. The original plan was to build 30 storeys, so the foundation was built for that. Even DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall) allowed us to increase the density by 30% but, we thought it would be good to keep the building itself [at 20 storeys]. We added only one level on the rooftop, where the facilities will be,” says Chee.
The Atrium has easy access to major highways such as the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway, Maju Expressway, Middle Ring Road II and Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway. It is also near the Ampang Park, Dato Keramat and Jelatek LRT stations.
Nearby are medical centres such as Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur, HSC Medical Centre, KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital and Prince Court Medical Centre.
The Atrium is part of a 4.54-acre parcel that Paramount Corp Bhd purchased in 2020 from the subsidiaries of Singapore-listed Wing Tai Holdings Ltd. An existing 132-unit low-rise condominium, which sits on the remaining 3.5 acres, will be torn down to make way for a condo development of more than 400 units. The total GDV of The Atrium and the new condo is RM968 million.
Future launches
Chee says Paramount Property is planning six launches with a sales target of RM1 billion this year. These projects are located in Section 14 in Petaling Jaya; Greenwoods in Salak Perdana; Kemuning Utama; Sejati Lakeside 2 in Cyberjaya; Batu Kawan in Penang; and Bukit Banyan in Kedah.
He expects the property market to remain soft in 2022, depending on the country’s economic and financial outlook.
“The move into the endemic phase is expected to restore consumer confidence and aid the recovery of the property market in 2022. Downside risks remain, namely the developments surrounding Covid-19, both globally and domestically,” he says.
“Headwinds such as uncertainties arising from the emergence of a new variant of the virus, interest rate hikes, escalating prices of building materials and shortage of construction workers could dampen the property sector’s recovery.”
He notes, however, that the record-low interest rate environment and abolishment of the real property gains tax for disposals from Year 6 will help invigorate the property market. As such, he foresees that the market will be more sensitive to customers’ needs and demands, and provide more value for money, quality and functionality.
While the property development industry is on the road to recovery, he reckons that inflation is imminent, and the industry is experiencing the issue of high material prices affecting developers’ margins.
“What is happening in the market is that developers are experiencing a squeeze in margins but, at the same time, buyers are looking for discounts. Soon, most developers will offload their inventories, and property prices will go up.
“For many Malaysians, the best way to hedge against inflation is to buy property, and it is a way of keeping [the value of] our money.”
Paramount Property has a full plate but, by keeping a steady focus on what needs to be done, it is building a foundation for further expansion.
KUALA LUMPUR: Pemaju hartanah, Paramount Property (Paramount), melancarkan dua projek hartanah kediaman dan satu projek hartanah komersil dengan jumlah keseluruhan nilai pembangunan kasar (GDV) RM136.7 juta yang terletak di perbandaran Bukit Banyan di Sungai Petani, Kedah.
Dua projek hartanah kediaman itu ialah Fasa 7 – Bukit Banyan Sierra 3 Elegant, rumah berkembar berkeluasan 40×85 dan luas lantai 3,255 kaki persegi (kps) dan Fasa 9 – Bukit Banyan Amaryn 3, rumah teres dua tingkat berkeluasan 22×75 dengan luas lantai 2,487 kps.
Lebih menarik, Paramount Property menawarkan promosi hebat yang mana pembeli akan mendapat sebuah Proton X50 secara percuma dengan setiap pembelian rumah berkembar dua tingkat Sierra 3 Elegant.
Bukit Banyan Sierra 3 Elegant yang dijangka siap pada April 2023 dijual bermula dari RM 684,900 seunit manakala Bukit Banyan Amaryn 3 bermula dari RM 405,400 seunit dan dijadualkan siap pada November 2023.
Bagi projek komersil, Bukit Banyan Business Centre, ia dijangka siap pada Mac 2025 dan menawarkan dua jenis saiz iaitu 20×80 dan 20×70 dengan harga bermula dari RM588,900 seunit.
Penolong Pengurus Besar bahagian Jualan & Pemasaran Paramount Property, Teoh Boon Hooi, berkata pembeli berpeluang untuk menikmati penjimatan hebat sehingga RM95,000.
Katanya, selain itu bagi menyambut Hari Raya Aidilfitri yang bakal tiba, pembeli juga turut berpeluang untuk mendapat pakej duit raya sehingga RM2,188 bagi setiap pembelian bersempena Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
“Jadi, inilah peluang keemasan bagi pembeli untuk mendapatkan rumah idaman yang dinantikan,” katanya kepada BH dalam temu bual secara maya baru-baru ini.
Mengulas lanjut Boon Hooi berkata, bagi Bukit Banyan Sierra 3 Elegant, ia disasarkan kepada pembeli yang berpendapatan tinggi yang mahukan gaya hidup elegan serta eksklusif manakala Bukit Banyan Amaryn 3 pula adalah sesuai untuk pembeli yang berpendapatan sederhana dan meinginkan keselesaan bersama keluarga di kediaman yang berkonsepkan moden.
Katanya, Bukit Banyan Business Centre pula khusus untuk golongan pembeli berpendapatan tinggi yang menginginkan sebuah pejabat kedai yang berkonsepkan moden dan eksklusif.
“Keunikan projek ini ialah, rumah berkembar kami menawarkan kediaman yang sangat luas, eksklusif dan elegan dengan kawasan landskap yang sangat indah dan teres dua tingkat pula mempunyai ruang yang sangat luas dan menjamin keselesaan seluruh keluarga di samping konsepnya yang moden serta susun atur yang sangat menarik.
“Projek komersil pula menawarkan unit pejabat kedai yang terletak di kawasan strategik dengan konsep serta susun atur yang moden. Ia terletak di lokasi strategik dengan kewujudan lebih 4,000 unit perumahan di sekitarnya menjadikannya sebagai pelaburan yang sangat menguntungkan untuk masa depan,” katanya.
Perbandaran itu turut menempatkan Bukit Banyan Hill Park dilengkapi dengan taman rekreasi yang bercirikan sembilan tema iaitu Orchard Park, Herbal Park, Fun Park, Maze Play, Value Garden, Childhood Play, Nature Play, Adventure Play dan Qi Garden sekali gus menjadikannya sebagai perbandaran ideal untuk didiami.
Untuk sebarang pertanyaan dan maklumat lanjut mengenai projek hartanah ini, pembeli boleh menghubungi galeri jualan Bukit Banyan di talian 04-4413388.
KUALA LUMPUR: Paramount Corp Bhd has invested RM10mil in e-commerce venture Commerce DotAsia Ventures Sdn Bhd (Commerce.Asia), in line with its strategy to diversify its revenue stream.
In a statement, the group said the investment was made via its wholly-owned investment vehicle Magna Intelligent Sdn Bhd and Magna’s 30%-owned associate Omegaxis Sdn Bhd, which owns peer-to-peer lending platform Fundaztic.
Commerce.Asia, which operates in Southeast Asia, manages all aspects of customers’ online businesses, from developing their online stores to managing product sales across multiple e-marketplaces, including warehousing, payment, delivery, marketing, and order management.
According to Paramount Corporate Strategy & Investment head Tracy Gan, the convergence of the fintech and e-commerce trends serves as the platform for Fundaztic to provide financing to Commerce.Asia’s network of merchants utilising advanced data and insights.
The company currently has over 92,000 active sellers that use its various platforms, with a group gross merchandise volume (GMV) of RM6.7 billion last year.
Paramount said the investment comes in line with its strategic plan to identify new sources of earnings, particularly in the digital space.
“The pandemic had shifted consumer behaviour and accelerated e-commerce adoption worldwide over the past two years.
“As such, our investment in Commerce.Asia is timely given its end-to-end ecosystem, track record, and business model which has almost doubled in revenue since 2020 and turned profitable in 2021,” said Gan.
Moving forward, she said Paramount is looking to increase its footprint in the digital space with opportunities that create synergy with its existing investments and businesses.
Petaling Jaya, 25 February 2022: Despite the strong headwinds brought about by the prolonged pandemic, Paramount Corporation Berhad (‘Paramount’ or ‘the Group’) ended FY2021 with a revenue of RM681.4 million, which was 15% higher than RM593.6 million in the last financial year, supported by the strong performance of its property division in the fourth quarter. The Group also saw a 37% jump in Profit Before Tax (PBT) from its continuing operations of RM70.3 million compared to RM51.5 million in FY2020.
However, the Group’s profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the company was lower at RM28.5 million (FY2020: RM486.4 million) mainly due to a gain of RM462.7 million recognised from the pre-tertiary education business divestment in FY2020 which is no longer consolidated in this year’s financial results.
A single tier final dividend of 3 sen per share has been proposed, subject to shareholders’ approval in the upcoming annual general meeting.
Property division
The property division’s revenue was affected by various degrees of disruptions such as the closure of construction sites and sales galleries, particularly in 3Q2021. Nevertheless, the impact of these has been moderated by the contribution from the commercial land sale at Sekitar26 in Selangor, resumption of operations at 100% workforce capacity and reopening of sales galleries in the last quarter of the year.
Paramount Group CEO Jeffrey Chew said, “The property division’s strong fourth quarter performance was a key contributor to Paramount’s resilient performance for FY2021 as seen from its revenue of RM314.2 million, which was 69% higher compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Additionally, the division’s PBT of RM35.8 million in 4Q2021 was also 58% higher than in 2020.”
All in all, the property division achieved a revenue of RM672.1 million (FY2020: RM584.4 million) for FY2021, which was 15% higher than the last financial year while its PBT was 28% higher at RM78.6 million (FY2020: RM62.7 million). The top contributors to revenue were Bukit Banyan in Kedah, Utropolis Batu Kawan in Penang, and ATWATER in Selangor.
Additionally, the property division’s sales in FY2021 had risen by 5% to RM806 million against RM770 million achieved in FY2020, while unbilled sales crossed the billion ringgit threshold for the second year at RM1.1 billion (as at 31 December 2021).
Coworking division
For FY2021, the coworking division recorded a revenue of RM5.8 million, which was 29% higher than last financial year of RM4.5 million. This was mainly attributed to new revenue from the Tropicana Gardens outlet which opened in January 2021, coupled with the maiden contribution from Scalable Malaysia, a one-stop workspace solutions provider.
Despite the higher revenue, however, the coworking division incurred a higher loss before taxation (LBT) of RM8.6 million for FY2021 (FY2020: LBT of RM4.7 million). This was mainly due to an impairment loss of RM4.6 million in respect to Co-labs Coworking Naza Tower, Platinum Park.
Prospects
“Moving forward, the reopening of the economy and the gradual easing of the country into accepting COVID-19 as endemic is expected to restore consumer confidence and aid the recovery of the property market in 2022. In addition, the low interest rate environment, and the abolishment of the real property gains tax for disposals is expected to help invigorate the property market,” said Chew.
However, Chew said uncertainties arising from possible new variants of the COVID-19 virus, potential interest rate hikes, escalating prices of building materials and the shortage of construction workers could dampen recovery.
“In the meantime, we look forward to launching six projects in 2022 (including new phases of existing projects) with an estimated gross development value of RM1.3 billion.
“Among the projects we have lined up are Arinna, a low-density smart home project at Kemuning Utama in Shah Alam, Selangor, and a transit-oriented development project situated next to the Asia Jaya Light Rail Transit Station in Petaling Jaya, both of which will be launched after securing all the necessary authority approvals,” he said.
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