When open the newspaper this morning, come the head line "PROTON BEATS THE ODDS"
An surge in Qtr profits for Proton is no surprise at all given the protection from Malaysian Govt.
This profits should be temporaly due to new launching of 'MPV Exora', it wouldn't surprise me if Proton's continue reporting profits in the next few quarters.
BUT it will not last long, Proton will certainly once again incurred huge losses after that mainly due to high developing cost & operating expenses, & the sad point is Proton can never compete in overseas markets.
IT HAS TO RELY ON LOCAL MARKET TO SURVIVE, IT HAS TO RELY ON GOVT PROTECTION TO SURVIVE & MAKING PROFITS IN THE EXPENSES OF MALAYSIAN'S HARD EARNED MONEY.
IT'S PROFITS ARE DERIVED FROM THE INCOME OF POOR MALAYSIAN. MAKE MALAYSIAN POORER BY SUBSIDY & SUBSIDY.
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Proton beats the odds
By JAGDEV SINGH SIDHU
National carmaker’s revenue and profit up despite weak auto market
THE financial results delivered by Proton Holdings Bhd yesterday were a pleasant surprise yet somewhat of a rude shock.
The surprise was the manner in which profit and revenue grew amid a generally weaker environment for auto sales.
Backed by brisk demand for its three main models – Persona, Saga and Exora – which account for 86% of domestic sales, Proton smashed earnings expectations as it delivered on its strongest results in years.
The earnings of 14.9 sen during its second quarter was its best showing in six quarters and the second best since the final quarter of its 2006 financial year.
According to Malaysian Automotive Association data, Proton’s sales increased 9% in its second quarter compared with the previous corresponding period.
This at a time when industry volume was down about 3.5% against a year ago.
“We expect continued sales volume momentum and maintain our forecast for Proton’s sales volume to exceed the 150,000-mark for financial year 2010,’’ said UOBKayHian.
UOBKayHian in a note yesterday said it did not expect Perodua’s Alza, its MPV offering, to dent demand for Proton’s Exora.
The reason? The segment Proton is selling its MPV is less price sensitive and for those who count the ringgit and sen before buying a car, Proton had recently introduced a no-frills stripped down version of the Exora at RM57,000.
Apart from selling more cars, Proton’s earnings were also lifted by gains from previously undertaken rationalisation exercises.
The streamlining of its vendor and dealer network has led to a whole range of cost savings, some substantial over a short period of time.
“Increased efficiency across the board helped lower the average cost per unit by an estimated 3.9% quarter-on-quarter. The recent rationalisation of Proton’s dealership network has started yielding the desired results though the process has yet to be completed,’’ said CIMB Research in its note.
Proton managed to cut sales and distribution charges by 56% from the first quarter, thanks to the consolidation of its network with Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd.
Cost savings were also extended to administration charges and manufacturing overheads, which saw a quarter-on-quarter reduction of 7% and 6% respectively.
The company’s sales network too shrank from 278 at end-June to 265 at end-September. That reduction is still far from the planned 191 outlets Proton is looking at but it was good enough, on the back of higher demand for its vehicles, to lead to a bump in monthly sales per outlet.
During the July to September quarter, each dealer on average sold 50 cars monthly, which was a 25% improvement from the 40 cars per month average sold per dealership in the first half year.
More sales per dealer is essential in keeping its network profitable and happy.
“The shuttering of unprofitable and inefficient dealers immediately enlarged existing dealers’ trade area and coverage, which boosted sales per dealer outlet. This process is expected to continue,’’ said CIMB.
However, the rude shock from the results announcement was not how much fat Proton managed to cut. It’s the admission that there is a lot more to slash.
Proton said it can save RM530mil at the ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) level by financial year 2012/13 through an company-wide process re-engineering.
In short, there are a lot of efficiencies to be gained, a confession that would not surprise car watchers.
The better financial results and cost cutting saw Proton’s cash pile balloon to RM1.5bil, or RM2.32 a share. More savings expected to come in it will place Proton in good stead, considering the cash needed to fund its future plans.
For a start, Proton intends to operate like a global car company, and that means coming up with a car that will have global appeal and launching at least two models a year from the current one.
The global car would spearhead Proton’s attempt to penetrate the international market as relying on cars made for the Malaysian market would only take it so far.
Large amounts of cash too would be needed to turn subsidiary Lotus from a low priced and low volume sportscar manufacturer into one that is high priced and high volume.
Exploring green technologies like a hybrid or electric car, which Proton is already doing, will require cash, and maybe lots of it.
What sort of impact will this have on profitability?
Proton’s recent track record shows periods in which it posted better results only to slip back again. But this time around, that pattern may not be repeated.
“With management seeing sustainable margins, we expect Proton to deliver good results going forward,’’ said OSK Research in its note yesterday.
“Next year, Proton would be launching its centralised pre-delivery inspection hub, which would see its distribution cost being cut further as dealers will not be required to stock cars at their showrooms, which eliminates the rental cost for storage of cars.’’ it said.
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