KUALA LUMPUR: DRB-HICOM Bhd registered a net profit of RM47.49 million in the third quarter (Q3) ended September 30, 2020, with a revenue of RM3.56 billion.
In a statement today, the company said this was boosted by the re-opening of the economy late in Q2 as the nation began the recovery Movement Control Order (MCO).
Due to the change in the group's financial year end from March 31 to December 31, there is no comparative figures for the quarter and financial period ended September 30, 2020.
DRB-HICOM said its automotive, services and properties sectors all recorded their best quarterly performance in Q3.
"This, as the group's subsidiaries including joint-venture and associate companies all performed better in the quarter under review," it said.
For the nine-month period, DRB-HICOM registered a net loss of RM431.86 million on the back of RM8.31 billion revenue.
The group attributed the loss to the significant impact of the MCO, as well as the modification loss recognised due to the moratorium extended to banking customers during the period.
DRB-HICOM said the government's decision to declare a sales tax holiday for passenger vehicle purchases until the end of the year had boosted the automotive sector in Q3, including component manufacturing.
Revenue for the sector was RM2.54 billion in the three-month period, up 140.91 per cent from the preceding quarter.
DRB-HICOM said national carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd had launched its second SUV, the X50, in late October. The public response had been tremendous with more than 20,000 bookings secured.
The other SUV, the larger X70, and the Saga and the Persona have also remained popular with Malaysian buyers.
"These models should enable the carmaker to sustain its upward momentum and maintain its growing market share that has risen to 22 per cent in the nine months to September 2020," it said.
Its services sector recorded revenue of RM918.67 million in Q3, up 5.4 per cent against Q2, led by banking and postal services.
Moving forward, the group said with Covid-19 remaining a potent threat, the business environment domestically and globally remained challenging.
"The group is continuously assessing strategies and initiatives to mitigate its adverse impact. Still, factoring the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that began in March this year, DRB-HICOM's full year operating performance is expected to be lower than the previous financial period," it added.