Market Insight: Azimut Benetti's 1.2 Billion Euro Order Book

By Jenna Mehdi

Italian shipbuilding group Azimut Benetti has announced it will close the 2020/21 yachting season with an order book value of 1.2 billion euros. The owner of luxury yacht brands Azimut and Benetti Yachts will close the 2020/21 year with a value of production totalling 850 million euros, marking an increase of 100 million euros on the previous year.

Despite various production delays due to COVID restrictions and procurement problems in the supply chain, Azimut Benetti Group serves as champion for the prosperity of the luxury yacht-building sector in the post-COVID era. 

Commenting in a statement that the group ‘seized the moment of commercial exuberance that has characterised the last six months’, the latest announcement comes as attestable proof that luxury goods have not only survived but thrived during the easing of restrictions, with Azimut Yachts and Benetti together delivering a total of 245 boats in the last six months alone.  

Of the most recent surge in orders, the group added, most sales were made up by the various appealing and popular models in both the Azimut and Benetti brands. Proving particularly commercially successful is the new Azimut Yachts’ flagship, the Trideck, of which ten units had already been sold before the official debut at the ongoing Cannes Yachting Festival, and Benetti’s Oasis 40m, which has sold 14 units to date in the 2020/21 season. Also of note is Azimut Yachts’ Verve 47, of which a total of 55 units have been sold to date, 30 of which were sold in the past year.

Azimut Benetti also indicated that more than half of the value of production - about 570 million euros of the total 850 million - is made up by the superyacht segment (boats over 80 ft / 24m in length). With recent moves to consolidate its market presence internationally, this segment in particular has only been consolidated further still. 

However, the most impressive number is no doubt that of Azimut Benetti’s staggering order book, which has increased threefold compared to the previous season and now stands at some 1.2 billion euros. 900 million euros of this figure is for models in the superyacht segment, of which 508 million were signed in the last 90 days alone.  

In terms of market strength, Azimut Benetti confirmed that sales are fairly spread across the three main continents, although the APAC region has leapt forward with a rise to 15% of total sales. 

Azimut Benetti Group CEO Marco Valle comments, “I close my first year as Group CEO fully aware that we have achieved the challenging objectives we set ourselves. I am also looking ahead to the upcoming season buoyed by the excellent order book, which has practically saturated production for the year that has just begun, and I am very confident that the new projects we are working on will allow us to continue along our organic growth path in the medium term too.” 

Group Executive Vice President Giovanna Vitelli confirmed his words, adding that the group’s focus must now be on continuing the fight for more sustainable shipbuilding. After definitively achieving our goal of reducing consumption (by at least 40%) and therefore emissions, through the use of carbon fiber and optimised hulls and propulsion systems, we are working on other technical solutions to offer yachts that are ever more respectful of the environment.”

This promise has been solidified by Azimut Benetti’s commitment to over 100 million euros in research and development in the next three years.

"I am also looking ahead to the upcoming season buoyed by the excellent order book, which has practically saturated production for the year that has just begun."

Marco Valle, Azimut Benetti Group CEO

Expand

"I am also looking ahead to the upcoming season buoyed by the excellent order book, which has practically saturated production for the year that has just begun."

Marco Valle, Azimut Benetti Group CEO
By Jenna Mehdi
More news About…
More news From ...