Paramount registers 62% increase in profit before tax for FY17

PETALING JAYA (March 14): Paramount Corp Bhd (PCB) recently announced its full-year financial results for FY17, posting a strong 62% growth in profit before tax (PBT).

Group PBT increased from RM112.5 million in FY16 to RM182.2 million in FY17, with a net profit of RM150.3 million on the back of a 32% increase on group revenue to RM758.3 million compared with the previous year (FY16: RM573.1 million).

This announcement follows on the heels of Paramount’s 4Q17 results which recorded a 33% group revenue growth amounting to RM239.7 million (4Q16: RM179.7 million) and a group PBT of RM37.7 million (4Q16: RM37.8 million).

A single tier final dividend of six sen per share has been proposed for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017 (2016: six sen).

In addition, the board also declared a single tier special dividend of 7.5 sen attributable to the gain derived from the disposal of the Sri KDU school campus to a REIT under its asset light strategy.

Paramount’s group chief executive officer Jeffrey Chew (pictured) said: “The group turned in a strong performance in the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17), laying a solid foundation for long-term and sustainable growth.

“Even with the challenging market conditions, property sales hit a record high while Paramount Education turned in a satisfactory set of results, despite unabated competition in the tertiary sector.”

Revenue for the property division increased by 25% attributable to higher sales recorded from Utropolis Batu Kawan and Sejati Residences developments and higher progressive billings registered from Greenwoods Salak Perdana.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 14, 2018.

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