Beneteau Group reports strong revenue growth in first-half results

Beneteau Group has released its Q2 results for 2023, reporting strong growth during the first half of the year.

The group’s recorded revenues climbed 38.1 per cent to €550m in the second quarter of the year. This growth took the group’s first-half revenues to €1,028m — up 43.8 per cent compared with 2022.

The boat division’s first-half revenues came to €813m, up 48.3 per cent compared with 2022. Beneteau says this performance reflects improvement in sourcing conditions compared with those seen during the first half of 2022, which had resulted in nearly €80m of billing being deferred.

The group’s motorboat business, which represented 56 per cent of first-half boat sales, is up 45 per cent from 2022.

For the dayboating segment, revenue growth benefited from the continued premiumisation, as well as the leading brands Beneteau and Jeanneau, further strengthened by the success of new models with the Antares 11 and Merry Fisher 12.95, and the extension of the product ranges offered by the American brands, illustrated by the Wellcraft Commuter 355.

For the ‘Real Estate on the Water segment’, sales were supported by the resumption of deliveries of large units by the Prestige and Beneteau brands, as well as strong demand for power catamarans.

The sailing boat business represented 44 per cent of boat sales for the first half of the year. The sailing segment recorded first-half growth of 55 per cent, thanks to the continued strong demand, which had been anticipated with the industrial capacity increases rolled out in 2022.

The upturn in purchases by charter professionals and the acceleration in growth for the Excess brand, which tripled its sales over the period, thanks in particular to the commercial success achieved by the new Excess 14, also contributed to this performance.

Growth was consistent across the various regions. Europe benefited in particular from the development of the network of the American brands Four Winns and Wellcraft, while in the United States, deliveries continued to be robust despite the significant increase in interest rates.

The group’s housing division generated €215m of revenues for the first half of 2023, up 29 per cent from 2022. The growth in business was in line with the sustained trends seen on the camping tourism markets. It also reflects the impacts of inflation being incorporated into sales prices. To meet the strong demand seen in France, Beneteau temporarily allocated part of the iItalian production capacity to delivering leisure homes for French key account clients.

As announced on May 5, 2023, Beneteau Group signed an agreement with Trigano for the sale of the housing division. This transaction remains subject to obtaining approval from the competition authorities.

Beneteau Group is also ramping up its operations in the daily boat rental sector. It says its core ambition is to meet growing demand for flexible and accessible sailing through Boat Clubs, particularly in the United States and Europe.

In the United States, the group increased its interest from 40 per cent to 49 per cent in Your Boat Club, a company that has been jointly owned by its two founders since July 2021. There are 38 bases now in operation, including four in Florida, with a fleet of around 300 boats. Part of the renewal of this fleet is now moving forward in synergy with the Boat division through the Glastron brand.

At the same time, in Europe, the group acquired a stake in the capital of Wiziboat with a view to taking control of this company during the summer. Its digital app, enabling short-term rental of shared boats with self-service access, is currently available at 21 bases across France. It will make it possible to extend Beneteau Group’s range of services for a wider audience, further strengthening its presence across the European market and supporting the activity of its extensive dealership network.

Moving forward, the group says it aims to operate around 100 rental bases, spread across the two continents, with a fleet of over 1,000 boats, for around 8,000 to 10,000 members.

Alongside this, Beneteau Group has acquired a 20 per cent minority interest in Yacht Solutions.

This company, which recorded €3.2m of revenues in 2022, offers owners of large units a selection of technical equipment, interiors and customisations.

“With these three strategic initiatives, Groupe Beneteau is once again moving closer to its user customers, providing solutions that are aligned with the various use cases, while helping its boat division to continue developing and opening up new business opportunities for its distribution network”, confirms Bruno Thivoyon, Beneteau Group’s chief executive officer.

The outlook for 2023 revenues is confirmed, with income from ordinary operations to exceed €200m (vs. €190m previously).

While interest rates are continuing to rise and certain market segments are slowing down, Beneteau says its global order book ‘continues to be supported by its premiumisation strategy and the commercial success of its latest new models.’

In the autumn, the group will showcase the Prestige F4 and M8 models, the new Beneteau Antares 12 and Oceanis 37, and the new Wellcraft 435 at various boat shows.

The group has confirmed its boat division’s revenue forecast, with over €1,450m expected for the full year, up 16 per cent compared with 2022. This is said to factor in a normalisation of the seasonality of deliveries at the end of the year, reflecting the increase in dealership inventory financing costs (impact of higher interest rates), while inventory is now reportedly back to its pre-covid levels in terms of volumes.

Alongside this, based on the progress with operational performance levels over the first half of the year, the group says it now expects the boat division to achieve an 11.5 per cent operating margin for 2023 (vs. 11 per cent previously).

The housing division, it is forecasting full-year revenues of over €300m (over 15 per cent growth vs. 2022), with an operating margin that is expected to be higher than 10 per cent.

Excluding the housing division’s planned sale, the group says it expects to achieve consolidated revenues of over €1,750m (+16 per cent vs. 2022 based on reported data), while income from ordinary operations is now expected to exceed €200m (vs. €190m previously).

Beneteau Group will report its 2023 half-year earnings on 27 September 2023, and third-quarter revenues on 8 November 2023.