Paramount Corp Bhd hopes to sustain the strong sales momentum with speedier sales conversion and project approvals as lockdown restrictions ease, says its group chief executive officer Jeffrey Chew.

He, however, warned that 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 a weakened employment market.

Overall, Chew cautioned that the business environment is expected to remain challenging for the rest of 2021.

Having said that he believes that the low-interest-rate environment and the stamp duty exemption under the homeownership campaign will remain crucial to incentivise property purchases.

With that in mind, Paramount said its property division has lined up a few projects for the second half of this year, namely The Atrium and Arinna Kemuning Utama, it said in a statement last week.

The Atrium is a low-density development located close to Kuala Lumpur's embassy row, along Jalan Ampang and Jalan Ampang Hilir, with a gross development value (GDV) of RM202 million.

The 19-storey block will feature 241 units of apartment, with a built-up area of 556 sq ft to 1,227 sq ft. The launch price is RM563,000.

Arinna Kemuning Utama is a low-density smart home project located in Shah Alam.

The project offers 356 units of condominiums housed within two towers, with built-ups of 1,009 sq ft and 1,525 sq ft.

Paramount posted a net profit of RM1.62 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 (2Q FY21) compared to a net loss of RM4.01 million a year ago.

The group attributed the improved profitability to the low base of last year, coupled with higher revenue due to containment measures implemented to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Its revenue for the quarter almost doubled to RM127.45 million from RM64.2 million a year ago.

For the first half (1H FY21), its net profit was RM3.92 million compared with RM462.63 million boosted by a divestment gain a year ago. Its six-month revenue rose almost 50 per cent to RM279.26 million from RM186.31 million previously.

Paramount said for 1H FY21, it achieved property sales of RM309 million, which was 62 per cent higher against RM191 million in the corresponding period last year.

The group achieved higher property sales despite having launched fewer property units in 1H FY21 (217 units) as compared with the launches in 1H FY20 (548 units).

The property division achieved higher sales from projects such as Bukit Banyan in Kedah, ATWATER in Selangor and Utropolis Batu Kawan in Penang.

Paramount has unbilled sales of RM1.03 billion as at June 30, 2021, providing some form of visibility on its cash flow in the near term. However, it said that the pace at which the unbilled sales can be converted into billings would depend on the construction progress of the projects.