KUALA LUMPUR, May 31– DRB-HICOM Bhd narrowed its loss to RM16.96 million for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2021 compared to RM173.27 million loss in the same quarter last year.
Its revenue rose to RM3.51 billion compared to RM2.74 billion previously, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.
In a statement, it said brands under DRB-HICOM automotive sector including Proton, Honda, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen and Isuzu chalked up better sales in March versus February 2021.
“The sales tax holiday for passenger vehicle purchases that was extended to June 2021 enabled the group’s automotive brands to net a revenue worth RM2.58 billion in Q1 (Q1 FY2020: RM1.81 billion),” it said.
As for the services sector, the revenue of RM863.7 million in Q1 FY2021 compared to RM830.5 million in Q1 FY2020 was boosted by the performance of postal and logistics as well as banking subsidiaries.
“For the properties sector, revenue was RM69.7 million (Q1 FY2020: RM93.3 million), with lower billings as less than full-swing construction projects impact the revenue,” it added.
DRB-HICOM noted that the automotive sector remains the core business of the group with Proton sales beginning in 2021 continuing the strong momentum with sales volume of 15,017 units in April 2021, the best monthly sales figure since 2013.
“This upward momentum is contributed by top selling models namely Proton Saga followed by the two SUVs, Proton X70 and the newer Proton X50,” it said.
