A fall in sales sent profits at carmaker Proton tumbling almost 20 percent in the second quarter, the firm said today, but said it was confident in the future after launching a new model.

Proton said net profits for the three months to the end of September were RM65.9 million, down from RM82.1 million in the same period last year.

However, in a statement to the stock exchange, the company said revenues for the quarter rose 6.7 percent to RM2.24 billion compared with RM2.10 billion for the same period last year.

It added that it was upbeat that the launch this month of the Inspira, a new mid-sized sedan, would help it achieve strong sales over the coming quarters.

"Despite the challenging environment, with the encouraging response from the successful launch of Inspira coupled with execution of various marketing initiatives, Proton expects to grow domestic sales volume and market share," company chairperson Mohammad Nadzmi Mohamad Salleh said in a statement.

"This is envisaged to further improve the Group's profitability and our market share in the domestic market," he added.

Proton was formed in 1983 by then-premier Mahathir Mohamad as part of an ambitious national industrialisation plan. But it has suffered from a reputation for unimaginative models and poor quality.

It has been searching for a collaborator in a bid to penetrate foreign markets and develop attractive models to compete with growing competition from Japanese, European and Korean carmakers in its domestic market.

- AFP