KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — Lembaga Tabung Haji has bought an additional 1.75 million shares to own 5.09 per cent total stake, or 98.32 million shares, in DRB-Hicom Bhd.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, DRB-Hicom said the pilgrimage fund bought 750,000 of the company’s shares from the open market on March 2, followed by another one million on March 3.

DRB-Hicom recently reported a pre-tax profit of RM422.33 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2016, against a pre-tax loss of RM147.15 million recorded in the same quarter in 2015.

Revenue rose to RM3.43 billion from RM3.33 billion previously.

It said the car sector was the main contributor to revenue, boosted by the group’s unit, Proton Holdings Bhd’s multiple launches.

DRB-Hicom’s shares had been in focus in recent months following news of its search for foreign strategic partners to work with Proton.

The group’s search was expected to end by the first half of this year, it said. — Bernama