Malaysia: Proton Needs Foreign Partner
July 30, 2008 – 3:36 pm by Ivan Chong
While Proton thinks that the rising inflation and crude oil proces shall not give a major impact to their car sales, a Thomson Reuters survey of 16 analysts gives an average projection for Proton net profit in the current year of 93.1 million ringgit, down from 202.9 million ringgit the preceding year.
The Wall Street Journal’s Proton Likely Faces Bumpy Road Unless It Gets a Foreign Partner article reported:
On July 7, the stock (Proton) hit a 10-year low of 2.92 ringgit (89 U.S. cents) and many analysts doubt it can reach much above that for some time. On Tuesday, Proton declined 2.5% to 3.08 ringgit.
“Global car makers are issuing profit warnings and it would be tough for Proton to sustain earnings, going forward,” says Clare Chin, an auto analyst with CLSA in Kuala Lumpur. She has a sell recommendation on Proton, with a 12-month target price of 2.10 ringgit a share, 32% below Tuesday’s close.
However, Proton’s managing director, Syed Zainal Abidin, is confident Proton can sell 140,000 cars in Malaysia this fiscal year, up 23% from 114,000 in the last one. Proton’s longer-term goal is to sell 300,000 cars by 2010 and 500,000 by 2012 via strategic tie-ups with distributors in Southeast Asia, India, China and the Middle East.
Proton is set to introduce first van that carries passengers and cargo plus a replacement for its Perdana model. Both new models are due to launch in 2009, reported.
Read the Full Article of Proton Likely Faces Bumpy Road Unless It Gets a Foreign Partner by The Wall Street Joural
