Grand Banks Yachts Ltd - Setting sail once again?

Grand Banks, a luxury yachtmaker, has stepped up efforts to improve its sales and operational efficiencies after being placed on the SGX Watch List on 5 Dec 2011. The 2Q14 results showed a net profit of S$0.27m, its first quarterly net profit since 2009. Although the improvement in the luxury yacht market and emerging demand from Asia Pacific have helped strengthen Grand Banks’s orderbook, we think that it is not all smooth sailing yet for Grand Banks.

Grand Banks believes that the key to growth is through new product development and investment opportunities. It has raised funds to develop new models, foster sales partnerships and support working capital.

Launching new products

The demand in the US boat market continues to expand, raising Grand Banks’s US sales by 24.4% to S$19.4m in FY13, bolstered by the introduction of new models. Customers have shown a preference for these new designs and the group expects more sales leads in the next few quarters. Despite the global economy’s improvement, sales in Europe are still soft. Grand Banks has lost some market share to its more modern European competitors in the superyacht segment. However, Grand Banks may profit from a niche segment that still exists in Europe.

Banking on its brand

Grand Banks thinks that there is potential for yachts in the emerging markets, particularly in Asia. So, it has stepped up its sales partnerships in the APAC region to strengthen its brand equity. Grand Banks has strong brand recognition among its customers and it hopes to leverage this to enter these markets.

About Grand Banks:

Grand Banks Yachts began its journey in 1956 as American Marine, Ltd. Founder Robert J. Newton and his sons, John and Whit, were running a custom boatyard on Junk Bay in Hong Kong, building heavy sailboats and big motor yachts to designs by the world's top marine architects - Sparkman & Stephens, William Garden, Nat Herreshoff, Ray Hunt and others.

Today, this design is recognized around the world as the Grand Banks Heritage Series, an iconic design built first of wood and then, beginning in 1973, of fiberglass at a new factory in Singapore. The design was so successful, in fact that the general styling of the GB was seized by a score of other builders for fleets of look-alike yachts sold under dozens of names. None, through, could match the quality of construction for which Grand Banks is famed.

In each series, Grand Banks has sought to capture the spirit of a nautical ideal - and combine it with state-of-the-art equipment, meticulous craftsmanship, and superior construction techniques. It is the reason Grand Banks yachts have become such icons around the world, and why they continue to meet the high standards of discerning, demanding boaters today. 


By singaporestockmarketnews