Proton has reported a loss of RM52 million for Q3

Proton has reported a loss of RM52 million for Q3 of its 2010/2011 financial year, down from a RM81 million profit in Q2 of the 2010/2011 financial year. This resulted in a lower profit before tax of RM134 million for the first 9 months of the current financial year, compared to RM248 million for the same period of time in the last financial year.

Cumulative revenue as of 31st December 2010 was higher though compared to the same period in the last financial year – RM6.36 billion versus RM5.97 billion.

The losses were attributed to higher R&D and branding expenditure as well as restructuring expenses incurred as part of the business transformation plan of Group Lotus. The primary contributors to the loss were said to be higher marketing and selling costs for its cars as well as lower domestic sales volume due to competitors aggressively lowering prices during the seasonal break, as well as traditionally slower end of year demand.

Looking ahead, Proton is expecting to do well for the Q4 financial quarter as it says deliveries of the Proton Inspira and the recently launched Saga FL will support higher sales. Proton sold 15,805 units in January 2011. Its total sales for 2010 was 157,274 units.

“We are confident that our current strategy built on the principle of offering the right car, at the right price for the right market segment, will enable it to continue to capitalize on growing domestic sales,” said Proton Group Chairman Dato’ Sri Mohd. Nadzmi Mohd. Salleh.

“As for Lotus, higher expenditure is expected as the company is undergoing a restructuring exercise, but we are confident that the restructuring plan is making good progress. This is further supported by future plans which includes more efficient spending, continuous manufacturing efficiency and a consolidated marketing strategy, which is mainly to instill greater public awareness of new models,” he added.

Proton Group Managing Director Dato’ Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir also revealed that the Proton Exora E-REV and the Proton Saga EV are currently in the final stages of testing before being made commercially available. Positive signs of the mentioned higher R&D expenditure can be seen on our roads as well, such as the Proton prototype that we’ve been seeing locally as well as at the Bosch ESP testing center in Sweden.