Premium boats sales have led to Nimbus Group increasing its revenue by 7% during the fourth quarter 2023. Net revenue for the full year was up 8% year-on-year.
However, the Group’s latest financial results show overall sales growth fell by 20% in the last quarter of 2023 with sales of small boats decreasing by 38%; sales of premium boats were unchanged.
“The fourth quarter of 2023 confirmed the two-sided market that we became accustomed to during the year – while sales for premium boats remained favourable globally, sales in both small boats and the Nordic market declined,” said Jan-Erik Lindström, Group CEO.
“The reason for this strategic shift is that large premium boats as a segment offer several advantages, such as higher margins, a more stable market with less volatility, and a far more predictable sales and manufacturing process. It’s also the home ground for Nimbus Group – the segment we come from.”
Sales of own brands through Nordic dealers decreased by 68%. The order book in North America increased by 113% amounting to 53% of the total.
And the order book consists of 96% premium boats, up from 85% in the same quarter in 2023.
The acquisition of Edgewater, completed in May 2023, is proving positive for the Group. The integration and reorganisation of some parts of the operation are under way to enable the production of some of the boats previously shipped from Europe.
The Group has also been streamlining and reviewing the organisation to increase efficiency.
“The past few years have been tumultuous in many ways – with a pandemic followed by a supply chain collapse, an energy shortage and runaway inflation,” said Jan-Erik. “For small boats, these developments initially generated a surge in demand followed by an equally sharp decline.
He added: “Premium boats did not show a similar pattern at all – this market continues to develop in a far more predictable manner.”
And he said highlights of the last quarter have included the completion of the first Nimbus 465 Coupé – the largest Nimbus brand boat to date – which has attracted huge interest.
Sea trials of the electric concept boat Alukin Ocean Air 8 have been started and sales of Nimbus Group’s brands in North America have been consolidated into one market organisation.
At the same time, the Aquador brand has been introduced to the market and there have been ongoing preparations for the start of local production in North America.
In addition, an intra-group merger of group-owned Swedish dealer companies has been carried out to simplify administration and improve coordination.
