Revenue is up nearly 20 percent from last year for the Beneteau Group, an increase driven largely by the acquisition of Rec Boat Holdings and the stronger U.S. dollar on the boating side of the business.
Beneteau said it missed forecasts largely because of the economic situation in Canada.
For the boat business, revenue was 819.3 million euros ($890.9 million) in fiscal 2014-15, versus 650.1 million euros ($706.8 million) in the prior year. The boat business is reporting like-for-like growth of 10.7 percent in full-year revenue, compared with the previous year, at constant exchange rates.
Beneteau said income from ordinary operations showed strong growth, climbing 164 percent because of the volume of business and the dollar’s appreciation against the euro. Globally in line with forecasts, it came to 36.7 million euros, compared with a forecast of 38 million euros, affected by a non-recurring event — the bankruptcy of a Canadian dealer.
Alongside this, RecBoat’s revenue came in 12 percent lower than forecast, affected by the economic situation in Canada. Despite efforts to ensure effective control over costs, income from ordinary operations contracted from minus $2 million to minus $3.5 million.
Beneteau recorded 73.5 million euros ($80 million) in operating cash flow, up 19 percent from the previous year, covering its 69.1 million euros ($75.2 million) in current investments. The group’s net debt remains stable at 51 million euros ($55.5 million).
