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PETALING JAYA, 1 September 2021: Paramount Corporation Berhad (Paramount) is acquiring 32.7 acres (13.3 ha) of freehold land with a lake view in Cyberjaya to grow its series of award-winning and highly popular Sejati branded homes.

Utropolis Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Paramount, has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Makmur Asiamaju Sdn Bhd to acquire a piece of freehold residential land for a cash consideration of RM102.7 million.

The new land is within a kilometre radius of Paramount’s Sejati Residences and Sejati Lakeside. It is a 35-minute drive from Kuala Lumpur city centre or 25 minutes from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), and only 10 minutes from Putrajaya via major highways.

Sejati Residences, which is Paramount’s first high-end landed residential development in Cyberjaya has since sold out. This led to Paramount launching Sejati Lakeside in 2019. Sejati Lakeside is a 41.4-acre low density landed residential development set against a panoramic 45-acre lake.  The Sejati Lakeside development is ongoing and has recorded a 99% take-up rate for its first two phases comprising of 2-storey terrace and superlink homes.

“Paramount has a solid reputation in Cyberjaya. We hope to replicate the success of these two developments and the timing couldn’t be better. We are building on the strong momentum of Sejati Lakeside as we target to launch its final phase comprising 3-storey lakefront semi-detached homes, in the fourth quarter of this year,” said Paramount Deputy Group CEO Benjamin Teo.

Teo added that the development of the new piece of land is expected to generate a Gross Development Value (GDV) of RM319.8 million over six years, which would strengthen the group’s current GDV of RM7.6 billion and contribute positively to future earnings.

The acquisition is in line with Paramount’s strategy of replenishing its land bank at locations with strong growth potential and to scale up its property development activities to generate long-term sustainable income. The landed residential development is also in line with Paramount’s strategy of balancing its property development profile with a mix of different types of products to cater to different market demands.

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PETALING JAYA, 27 August 2021: Paramount Corporation Berhad (Paramount) recorded a profit before tax (PBT) of RM10.2 million for 2Q2021 and a profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of RM1.6 million on the back of the Group’s revenue doubling to RM127.4 million (2Q2020: RM64.2 million). This was a marked improvement from a loss before tax (LBT) of RM2.4 million and a loss attributable to ordinary equity holders of RM4.0 million that were recorded in the same period last year.

Paramount Group CEO Jeffrey Chew said, “The Group has delivered positive results while the market continues to be weighed down by COVID-19. The improved financial performance in 2Q2021 compared to the same period last year was mainly due to the low base last year and the less severe disruptions this year to the Group’s operations due to containment measures implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19.”

As for 6M2021 results, the Group’s revenue had risen by 50% year-on-year to RM279.2 million while the PBT rose 14 times year-on-year to RM21 million. However, the profit attributable to ordinary equity holders was lower by 99% to RM3.9 million without the non-recurring gain of RM460.6 million from the disposal of the Group’s controlling equity interest in the pre-tertiary education business that was recognised last year.

The Group’s property sales for 6M2021 grew by 62% to RM309 million (6M2020: RM191 million) on the back of steady demand from the sale of existing as well as new products from an existing project.

Property

The property division achieved a PBT of RM20.6 million in 2Q2021 against a LBT of RM4.5 million a year ago. This was on the back of RM125.2 million in revenue which was 101% higher than a year ago. The top three revenue contributors were Bukit Banyan in Kedah, ATWATER in Selangor and Utropolis Batu Kawan in Penang.

The higher 2Q2021 revenue was mainly attributed to the higher level of construction progress recognised, coupled with higher sales achieved, given the low base last year due to the first movement control order (MCO 1.0). Although the Group’s construction sites were closed from 1 June 2021 in compliance with the full movement control order (FMCO), most resumed operations within the same month after relevant approvals were obtained and compliance requirements were met.

For 6M2021, the property division recorded a revenue of RM274.8 million (6M2020: RM182.0 million) and a PBT of RM35.7 million (6M2020: RM1.2 million). The improved performance was due to less severe disruptions to the Group’s operations as compared to last year.

Coworking

For 2Q2021, the Co-labs Coworking division recorded a revenue of RM1.2 million, which was 55% higher than the same period last year of RM0.8 million. In addition to the contribution from the new outlet at Tropicana Gardens, Kota Damansara which opened in January 2021, all four other coworking outlets also registered higher revenue. However, the division’s LBT in 2Q2021 was RM1.2 million, 20% higher than RM1.0 million recorded in the same period last year mainly due to the additional costs of the new outlet.

For the first half of 2021, the Co-labs Coworking division achieved a revenue of RM2.6 million, which was 42% higher than the same period last year of RM1.9 million. Despite the higher revenue, the coworking division incurred a LBT at RM2.4 million (6M2020: RM2.4 million) mainly due to the new outlet.

Prospects

“The property market will be weighed down by continued economic uncertainties caused by the prolonged pandemic situation which could result in cautious household spending, reduced business expenditure and weakened employment market,” said Chew.

“However, as lockdown restrictions ease, we hope to sustain the strong sales momentum with speedier sales conversion and project approvals. The low interest rate environment and the stamp duty exemption under the home ownership campaign remain crucial to incentivise property purchases,” said Chew.

“The new projects lined up for the second half of this year are The Atrium, a high-rise residential development at the prestigious U-Thant enclave of Kuala Lumpur and Arinna Kemuning Utama, a low-density smart home project located in Shah Alam,” said Chew.

He added that measures are also underway for the Group to meet the relevant standard operating procedures such as vaccination of workers to allow construction activities to be carried out at a higher workforce capacity.

Overall, the Group expects the business environment to remain challenging for the rest of 2021 and as such, the Board has exercised prudence not to declare any dividend for this quarter.

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PETALING JAYA, 27 August 2021: Paramount Corporation Berhad (Paramount) announced its appointment of Quah Chek Tin as an Independent Non-Executive Director today and as Chairman of the Board with effect from 1 September 2021. Quah’s appointment will fill the void left by Paramount’s late Chairman and Executive Director, Dato’ Teo Chiang Quan who passed away unexpectedly on 24 May 2021.

Quah is no stranger to the company having been with the Board of Paramount from 6 February 2007 to 29 May 2019. During this time, he had served on all four board committees including as chairman of the Audit Committee for three years and as chairman of the Remuneration Committee for two years. This has provided Quah with a thorough understanding of the workings and governance of the board, the board committees as well as the business operations of Paramount Group which lends credence to his suitability for the position as Chairman of the company.

Paramount also announced its appointment of Benjamin Teo Jong Hian, an Executive Director, as Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 September 2021. Teo began his career in Paramount as a management trainee in 2012 and has since risen up the ranks within the company holding various senior management roles including as Paramount Property Development Sdn Bhd CEO since 2018 and leading the entire property team since 1 March 2021. Teo also spearheaded the coworking business.

“Benjamin’s appointment as a Deputy Group CEO is in line with Paramount’s management succession and risk mitigation plans to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Group,” said Paramount Corporation Berhad Group CEO, Jeffrey Chew.

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PETALING JAYA, 18 August 2021: Paramount Corporation Berhad (Paramount) has been accorded top awards in two categories by the Minority Shareholders Watch Group (MSWG) in the MSWG-ASEAN Corporate Governance (CG) Scorecard Award 2020. The categories are:

• Excellence Award for CG Disclosure – Market Cap above RM300 million to below RM1 billion
• Industry Excellence Award – Property

In addition to these awards, Paramount was placed at the 13th position among the top 100 public listed companies (PLCs) that were ranked by MSWG for CG disclosure in 2020.

Prior to this, in 2017, Paramount received an Excellence Award for Overall CG & Performance (Special Category) in the Market Cap above RM300 million to below RM1 billion category. In 2016 and 2015, it received merit awards for Best AGM and Top CG & Performance respectively.

“We are delighted to receive not just one, but two awards by MSWG and to come in first in both categories. In addition, for a company of our size to be ranking 13^th out of 100 PLCs is truly a fantastic achievement,” said Paramount Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Jeffrey Chew.

“This is yet another enduring legacy of our late chairman, Dato’ Teo Chiang Quan who was the driving force behind Paramount’s unwavering stance on good corporate governance. Together with the Board of Directors, he emphasised on the importance of building Paramount on a foundation of integrity and trust. He also believed that a strong corporate governance framework and culture translates to a strong company that delivers for all its stakeholders.

“Moving forward, we will continue to build on Dato’ Teo’s legacy. We will remain committed to improving on our corporate governance standards, adopting best practices, and providing good disclosures for greater transparency to our stakeholders,” added Chew.

For 2020, 52 trophies are awarded to 38 PLCs by MSWG out of a total of 851 PLCs assessed. The winners were assessed using the ASEAN CG Scorecard and winners were determined by the Adjudication Committee which comprises representatives from professional bodies, CG experts, academicians, investment professionals and those familiar with the Malaysian equity market.

Scores are principally given based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Principles of Corporate Governance which covers shareholders’ rights, equitable treatment of shareholders, roles of stakeholders as well as responsibilities of the board of directors, with bonus scores for the adoption of other emerging good CG practices and deductions for areas of poor governance.

MSWG was established as a government initiative in the year 2000 as part of a broader capital market framework to protect the interests of minority shareholders through shareholder activism. It is one avenue of market discipline to encourage good governance amongst public listed companies with the objective of raising shareholder value over time.

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