Proton today reported losses for four consecutive quarters as its year to March 2007 net loss ballooned to RM591.36 million.

The ailing national carmaker blamed weak auto sales amid stiff competition and higher production costs for the reversal from its 2006 net profit of RM46.69 million.

For the fourth quarter to December, Proton posted a net loss of RM913,000 against a profit of RM126.86 million a year earlier.

Revenue in 2007 fell 37 percent from the previous year to RM4.92 billion. The fourth quarter's revenue slid 29 percent from a year ago to RM1.26 million.

Proton said in a statement to the stock exchange that competition was "intense" in the fourth quarter as other motor firms aggressively cleared their stocks towards the end of 2006.

Matters were made worse from higher component costs, increased promotion expenses and provisions, it added.

Proton said in its outlook for the year that trading conditions will remain challenging, with components costs seen rising further and as competition continues to put pressure on its profit margins.

Looking for bidders

Proton's market share has fallen sharply in recent years due to the whittling away of duties that have made imports more affordable, and a persistent reputation for poor quality and unimaginative models.

Malaysia's government has been under intense pressure to announce details of a partnership for Proton in a bid to provide it with expertise to arrest the sharp decline in market share.

Negotiations with Germany's Volkswagen AG are ongoing, while US auto giant General Motors is also touted as an interested party.

The government, which owns 59 percent of Proton, has so far missed two self-imposed deadlines to announce Proton's partner.

Previous talks with PSA Peugeot Citroen of France and Mitsubishi of Japan were unsuccessful.

Analysts partly attributed the wrangling to the government's reluctance to cede control of a national company to foreign hands.