DRB-Hicom: No hike in car prices for now

Kuala Lumpur: DRB-Hicom Bhd group managing director Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil said that the company has no plans now to increase the prices of cars and it will remain stable at the moment despite the challenging economic scenario.

While reiterating that the conglomerate does not have any plan for such a move, he said DRBHicom is formulating mitigating measures to counter the slowdown of business following the weakening of local currency.

The plans will be carried at the corporate office and across operating companies through cash flow management and cost-sensitivity measures, he told reporters at the sending-off ceremony for the first batch of International College of Automotive (ICAM) students to the Britain, yesterday.

ICAM is part of Hicom University College Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DRB-Hicom.

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"Our automotive segment has been affected naturally because most of our marques are completely-built-up, while our property has also been affected as there are less buyers who are qualified for housing loans," he added.

“For the time being, we are not going to increase the prices because we are sensitive to the rakyat’s needs, so we are not taking this as an opportunity to increase the prices.”

DRB-Hicom, which has 10 companies specialising in manufacturing and engineering, imports raw materials but a major portion of its needs are locally-produced. Hence, it is not much affected by the weakening ringgit.

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“We have been absorbing the cost as we are sensitive to the country’s economic development and we want to assist the rakyat and government in overcoming the difficulties that we are facing now.”

DRB-Hicom group with a diverse portfolio of products and services across various business sectors has been affected by the current market sentiments and challenging economic and business landscape.

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DRB-HICOM posted a lower pre-tax profit of RM16.6 million for the first quarter ended June 30, 2015 from RM185 million in the same period last year while its revenue declined 20.8 per cent to RM2.9 billion from RM3.7 billion previously.

Image Courtesy: Paultan.org