DRB-HICOM promises exciting times ahead

DRB-HICOM Bhd's shareholders can expect some exciting times ahead, says
its group managing director (MD) Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil.

"We will continue to create and enhance value for all our shareholders," Mohd Khamil told Business Times in an interview.

Flashback 17 months ago, the DRB-HICOM managing director was a man
under pressure, being grilled by shareholders at the company's annual
general meeting over its poor stock performance.

In mid-September
2010, the DRB- HICOM share price was trading in the range of the RM1.13
level, and Mohd Khamil had assured shareholders that the company will
improve its own investor relations unit to enhance shareholder value.

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Since then, DRB-HICOM has added Pos Malaysia Bhd and Proton Holdings
Bhd to its stable, as well as snatching a multi-billion defence
contract.

Today, investment firms such as CIMB Research and RHB Research value the DRB-HICOM shares at RM4.60 and RM3.45 respectively.

Mohd Khamil's value creation strategy has helped DRB-HICOM's share
price rally by as much as 200 per cent over a 17-month period.


"Creation of shareholders value is one of our primary aims. We have
strived hard to ensure that our balance sheet remains healthy and that
the growth of our revenue and profit is preserved, if not enhanced," he
said.

Mohd Khamil pointed out that the transformation journey,
which started five years ago, witnessed a jump in revenue to RM6.8
billion last year from RM2.9 billion in 2007.

"This reflects a
leap of more than 100 per cent. Our pre-tax profit tripled to RM701.5
million from RM187.1 million five years ago," he noted.

He added
that with the group's synergies created from Pos Malaysia and soon,
Proton Holdings, shareholders can look forward to a more exciting time
ahead.

On how he managed to transform DRB-HICOM from a
slumbering giant into a "can do" company, Mohd Khamil said it was a
collective effort, helped by the creation of a new corporate culture.

"In many instances, corporate culture is not a priority for the
management. However, at DRB-HICOM, corporate culture is given equal
emphasis to that of our business plans," he said.

Mohd Khamil said managing change must take into consideration that the group's workforce are human beings.

"They are not machines where with a press of a button, things will run
like clockwork ... We must bring the awareness of change to our people
to enable them to make the necessary preparation to adapt and adopt," he
added.