KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): Shares in Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd (CCB), the local distributor of Mercedes-Benz marquee, fell 5.17% in early trade today after it posted a 9.9% drop in its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016 (2QFY16) to RM19.67 million from a year ago, in line with the 10.5% drop in sales to RM422.75 million.

At 9.39am, CCB lost 18 sen to RM3.30 with 131,000 shares done.

For the cumulative six months (1HFY16), Cycle & Carriage's net profit rose 2.5% to RM29.18 million. Revenue inched up by 0.3% to RM737.88 million, which the company attributed to higher unit sales. However, it was offset by a higher composition of lower-priced models.

Its chairman Haslam Preeston said in a statement yesterday that the group is banking on the new E-Class to bring "a beneficial effect on the group's results" going forward, although trading conditions are currently challenging.