Paramount Corp’s Q4 net profit doubles

PETALING JAYA: Paramount Corp Bhd's net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2016 more than doubled to RM30.26 million from RM14.90 million a year ago due to higher profit from both the property and education divisions.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia last Friday, the group said the property division's pre-tax profit rose 62% to RM29.9 million during the quarter due to the higher profits registered on the Bukit Banyan, Sejati Residences, Utropolis Glenmarie and Greenwoods Salak Perdana developments.
The education division's pre-tax profit rose 118% to RM8.5 million due to higher profits from the primary and secondary school, and lower losses from KDU University College.
Revenue for the quarter rose 21.39% to RM179.73 million from RM148.06 million a year ago due to higher revenue achieved in both divisions.
The group has proposed a final dividend of 6 sen per share for the quarter under review.
For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 (FY16), net profit rose 10.84% to RM75.02 million from RM67.68 million a year ago due to higher profit from the education division.
Revenue for the year fell marginally to RM573.14 million from RM576 .03 million a year ago due to lower revenue from the property division.
For 2017, the group expects the property sector to remain competitive and is cautious on the market but is confident that its product portfolio will serve market demand well.
It expects to roll out another two developments this year namely a project with senior living concepts in Section 13, Petaling Jaya and Sekitar26 Enterprise, a neighbourhood community retail centre.
Despite challenges in the education sector, particularly in the tertiary segment due to intense competition and price wars, the group said prospects remain good as overall enrolment to-date has grown while its strong value proposition will continue to drive the division.