KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — DRB-Hicom Bhd returned to black in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (Q3FY2022), chalking up a net profit of RM143.95 million against a net loss of RM179.44 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Revenue for the period under review soared 114.2 per cent to RM4.54 billion from RM2.1 billion previously.

"The higher revenue was mainly attributed to the higher sales from Proton as well as higher revenue from manufacturing and engineering and automotive distribution companies,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

On the industry, DRB-Hicom said the automotive industry remained on track to achieve its 2022 total industry volume (TIV) forecast of 630,000 units.

Sales of vehicles rose more than 60 per cent to 516,798 units in the first nine months of 2022 while Proton exceeded the 100,000-unit sales milestone, selling 102,353 units for the financial period ended Sept 30, 2022 from 73,017 units in the corresponding period.

"In addition, this encouraging growth in sales volume drove better performance for the manufacturing and engineering companies within the group as they form part of Proton’s supply chain,” it added. — Bernama