Paramount quarterly net profit at RM15.62mil

PETALING JAYA: Paramount Corp Bhd’s net profit in the third quarter ended Sept 30 came in at RM15.62mil, 81% lower than in the previous year’s quarter due to a gain on disposal completed in the earlier quarter.

The group had made a one-off gain of RM77.8mil from the sale of its Sri KDU campus to Alpha REIT in the third quarter of financial year 2017.

According to the group, revenue for the quarter under review grew 12% to RM210.5mil from the yearago quarter due to contributions from the property division.

The property division’s revenue jumped 24% to RM144.4mil, while profit before tax (PBT) soared 88% to RM28.1mil due to Utropolis Glenmarie’s serviced apartments (Urbano) in Shah Alam and Utropolis Batu Kawan’s residential and commercial developments.

The education division, however, fared worse with revenue dropping 7% to RM66mil from the comparative quarter and PBT falling 48% to RM6.5mil excluding the gain on disposal of the Sri KDU campus.

The poorer performance was largely due to the rental expense incurred by Sri KDU under the sale and leaseback agreement with Alpha REIT, coupled with the lower contribution from the R.E.A.L Education Group, said the group.

Over the nine-month period to Sept 30, the group’s revenue grew 24% to RM651.15mil from the 2017 period, while PBT was 26% lower at RM107.6mil.

The figures include revenue and PBT from the sale of industrial land in Kota Damansara in Q218 of RM92.1mil and RM43.2mil respectively. Paramount said it had achieved sales of RM787mil in the nine months ended Sept 30, with a target of RM1bil in property sales backed by new launches of about RM1.2bil in 2018.

The gross development value of projects launched in the ninemonth period came to RM1.1bil.

“In addition, the group has achieved a new milestone, its unbilled sales stood at RM920mil as at Sept 30 on the back of its seven ongoing projects. This is expected to contribute positively to the group’s financial performance in the near future,” it said.

The group currently has a land bank of 1,980.7 acres, with 721.9 acres yet to be developed over 10 projects.