KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 16): Singapore-listed Parkson Retail Asia Ltd (PRA), a 67.96%-owned subsidiary of Parkson Holdings Bhd (KL:PARKSON), has submitted its application to exit the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) watch-list after its average daily market capitalisation exceeded the required S$40 million.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Friday, Parkson said it has submitted an application to the SGX to seek its approval to exit from the watch-list on Aug 16.
"The company would like to remind all shareholders and potential investors that there is no assurance that the SGX will approve the exit application. As such, shareholders and potential investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the shares of the company and to consult their professional advisers if they are in doubt as to the action they should take," said PRA executive chairman Tan Sri William Cheng Heng Jem.
"The company will update the shareholders on the outcome of the exit application in due course," he added.
In December 2019, PRA was placed on SGX's watch-list after it issued a notice in October that year that it had been loss-making for three consecutive years.
PRA has until Dec 2 this year to meet the requirements of Rule 1314 of the SGX's listing manual for its removal from the watch-list. Rule 1314 provides that an issuer may apply to the SGX for removal from the watch-list if it records consolidated profit before tax (PBT) for the most recently completed financial year and has an average daily market capitalisation of S$40 million or more over the last six months.
Filings with SGX showed that PRA attained a PBT of S$23.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 (1HFY2024) compared with S$24.7 million a year ago. The decrease in PBT was mainly due to the lower sales during the period.
For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY2023), the group recorded PBT of S$36.4 million, down 17% from S$43.7 million in FY2022, while revenue fell 4% to S$221.6 million from S$230.8 million in FY2022.
At end-December 2023, PRA operates 37 Parkson department stores in Malaysia. It had exited from the Vietnam market entirely during FY2023 after grappling with the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and stiff competition in the market.
PRA shares closed down S$0.002 or 3.08% to S$0.063 on Friday, bringing the company a market capitalisation of S$39.62 million. Parkson shares, meanwhile, ended the day unchanged at 23.5 sen, valuing the group at RM264.37 million.
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https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/parksons-unit-parkson-retail-asia-seeks-more-time-exit-sgx-watchlist