KUALA LUMPUR: Paramount Corp Bhd has proposed a final dividend of 3.5 sen for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY22), on top of the 12 sen special dividend to be paid on March 29, as a reward to its shareholders.
In a statement, the developer said the total dividends for FY22 would be 18 sen if the proposed final dividend is approved by shareholders at its forthcoming annual general meeting.
“Paramount had already paid an interim dividend of 2.5 sen for FY22 in September. The 12 sen special dividend will be paid from the proceeds of the divestment of Paramount’s remaining equity in its pre-tertiary education business in 2022,” it said.
In the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, Paramount’s net profit fell 22.4% to RM18.9mil, or earnings per share of 3.04 sen against RM24.3mil, or 3.93 sen achieved a year prior.
Revenue for the quarter stood at RM245.2mil, down 22.7% from RM317.3mil previously.
For the full year, it posted a net profit of RM60.2mil, up 111% from RM28.5mil a year earlier, while revenue jumped 24.4% to RM847.5mil versus RM681.3mil previously.
Group chief executive officer Jeffrey Chew said the property division’s strong performance in 2022 coupled with the improvement in the financial performance of its other businesses showed the ability of the group’s businesses to thrive in the year of recovery.
“The full reopening of the economy in the second quarter of 2022 had led to a surge in sales and we are happy to say that the momentum has been sustained. By the first nine months, we had already exceeded the financial results of the full year 2021,” he said.
Chew said: “The group achieved two new milestones in FY2022. Firstly, it achieved its highest ever sales of RM1.1bil, surpassing its record in 2018.”
“Secondly, it launched RM1.2bil properties, of which RM900mil was launched in the final quarter of 2022, including Phase 1 of Sejati Lakeside 2 in Cyberjaya (non-strata double storey semi-detached homes), The Atera in Petaling Jaya (a transit-oriented development) and Greenwoods Seraya in Sepang (townhouses).”
He also said these three projects were expected to contribute positively to the group’s sales performance in 2023, given the good response they had received.
Chew is confident with its property division’s ability to achieve a sales target of RM1.2bil given that demand for residential properties has always been resilient on the growth of the Malaysian economy.
Its unbilled sales of RM1.4bil as at Dec 31 will provide some visibility of cashflow in the near term, contingent on construction progress.
