Princess S60 Sports Yacht

After a year marked by intense investment, and buoyed by full order books, Princess Yachts Limited has reported a marked turnaround from previous years.

Two years ago, in 2015, saw an operating loss (before exceptional costs) of £18.1m on turnover of £201.2m, and now in 2016 the loss has more than halved to £7.0m on turnover of £216.7m, indicating a strong positive turnaround.

Having endured a challenging trading environment, in common with other luxury yacht makers, Princess began 2016 by developing an aggressive business strategy and initiating restructuring of its operations at its facilities in Plymouth. These important steps have both delivered business efficiencies and safeguarded employment for more than 2,350 people.

In parallel, the launch of four models has set the stage for a three-year £55m investment programme which will significantly broaden and strengthen the Princess model range. Following record sales at the Cannes, Düsseldorf and Ft. Lauderdale boat shows, orders across the range now exceed an extraordinary £0.5 billion at retail prices. The current year will see a new model launched, on average, every two months, taking Princess into new markets and opportunities.

2016 was the first full year at the helm for the company’s Executive Chairman, Antony Sheriff. Previously CEO of McLaren Automotive, Mr Sheriff came to Princess with a strong track record in leading profitable businesses with best-in-class luxury products.

Antony said: “We are encouraged to see a positive and rapid turnaround. Over the course of 2016 our order book has increased by over 60 per cent from already strong levels, driven by a 25 per cent increase in retail sales rate which has outstripped production. In 2017, these indicators have continued to improve, which is the clearest signal of the strength of our brand and the enthusiasm with which our customers have embraced our new yachts.

“Moving forward, with strong shareholder support, we are convinced that our ambitious strategy to aggressively invest in both our new products and our workforce at our historic Plymouth facilities, has already brought significant benefits to the business, with more to come as 2017 is shaping up to be a year that drives us to the next level.”

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