KUALA LUMPUR (April 21): Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd’s (CCB) net profit tumbled to below the million ringgit mark for its first financial quarter ended March 31, 2017 (1QFY17) amid intensified price competition among premium car suppliers.

In a statement today, the group said the quarterly net profit stood at RM312,000 or 0.31 sen per share, down 96.72 from RM9.5 million or 9.43 sen for 1QFY16.  

Revenue increased 11.93% to RM352.73 million from RM315.14 million, as the group’s 2% decline in unit sales was offset by a bigger portion of higher-priced models sold during the quarter.

“The group’s first quarter performance reflected a weak domestic market and increased competition,” said CCB. “Trading conditions are expected to remain largely unchanged for the remainder of the year.”

Earlier, CCB told The Edge Financial Daily that it aims to increase sales volume this year, but expects lagging growth in the premium car segment compared with Malaysia’s total industry volume (TIV), which rose by over 7% in 1QFY17.

For FY16, CCB’s sales rose 6% year-on-year to 4,873 units, but net profit fell 25% to RM39.1 million as sales volume growth was driven by its lower-margin models such as the C-Class.

Revenue also fell 6% to RM1.49 billion as the  group gradually increased contribution from completely knocked-down (CKD) or locally assembled units, which are priced 5% to 10% lower than its completely built-up (CBU) counterparts.

Currently, 70% of CCB's sales come from sales of CKD units, while the balance comes from imported cars.

CCB’s share price closed unchanged at RM2.83, with 63,400 shares traded. It has a market capitalisation of RM285.11 million.