Poole: Sunseeker to invest extra £50m in products after 'defining year'

Sunseeker International's audited accounts reveal that it moved back to profit for the year ending December 31, 2016. This was a defining year for Sunseeker, during which it delivered five new models, a record number for any one year, and saw its forward order book increase by 41% by volume year-on-year.

The figures reflect a £36 million (EBITDA) profit improvement since 2014 and are the result of a significant restructuring and refocusing of the business, together with substantial investment across new product, improved facilities and its people. The market reaction to these new products has been particularly strong and has helped the business increase revenue by 25% from £202.6m in 2015 to £252.4m, creating a strong platform for future profitable growth. As well as creating over 400 new jobs since 2014, the company has announced plans to recruit a further 170 people in 2017 to support further volume growth.

Sunseeker launched a record five new models across the size range in 2016 from the Manhattan 52 and Predator 68 to the larger 95, 116 and 131 Yachts, collectively securing over £220m of orders at retail value to-date. The Manhattan 52, which won the award for ‘Best Flybridge up to 55ft’ at the 2017 Motor Boat Awards, is now the brand’s fastest-selling model to-date with over 80 retail orders in its first five months.

Phil Popham, CEO of Sunseeker, commented: “It has been a remarkable turnaround in such a short space of time and much of this can be attributed to our strategy to continually invest across the key areas of the business, especially our products.  New and exciting products breed growth in this market and the response we have had for our latest models has been nothing short of incredible. We are confident this is going to continue too as we will be investing a further £50m across the business to support a bold product plan that will see many more new introductions over the next few years.”

He added: “2016 has been a defining year for Sunseeker and I’d like to personally thank the whole Sunseeker team for their hard work and dedication and our shareholder Wanda Group for their continued support to help make this possible. The business is on a fresh course, not just to strengthen our position as Britain’s largest boat builder, but as the global leader for luxury performance superyachts. All this, underpinned by a strong forward order book, means we are extremely excited about the future.”

The multiple product model launches are set to continue as part of a long-term product plan, which will see several new model introductions over the next five years. Already in 2017, Sunseeker has launched two new models, the Manhattan 66 and 68 Sport Yacht, which were revealed at the London Boat show in January, and further introductions are planned for later in the year.