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Sustainable innovation, premiumization, new services Dialogue between our two executives on the 2023 results, the 2024 outlook and the future of the Group

How would you assess Groupe Beneteau’s results for 2023?

BT: 2023 was an outstanding year on a number of levels. First of all, in terms of our record results. They confirm our market-leading position for boats. They also highlight the relevance and solidity of our model. They are proof that the shift we made four years ago, with the adoption of our Let’s Go Beyond! strategic plan, is delivering a range of benefits and that the premiumization strategy we have been working on is the right one.

Today, these outstanding performances further strengthen our confidence in our ability to accelerate the rollout of our mission: Bringing dreams to water – offering everyone the opportunity to share moments of joy and discovery on the water, while respecting and protecting our marine environment.

Bruno Thivoyon et Gianguido Girotti

What were the key events of 2023 for Groupe Beneteau?

BT: In 2023, with the Board of Directors, we took a major strategic decision to launch the proposed sale of our Housing division*. This initiative aims to further strengthen its position as the European leader in the camping tourism sector, while enabling Groupe Beneteau to focus exclusively on its core business, boats.

Alongside this, 2023 was marked by a robust pace of innovation (more than 14 new boat models), the acceleration of our transformation and our corporate social responsibility commitments, as illustrated in particular by the launch of our B-Equal program, which aims to accelerate gender parity across the Group, as well as our employees’ enthusiastic response to The Arch project.

Lastly, this year was also marked by our development on new markets, such as digital and boat rental, with our acquisition of Wiziboat, setting out our commitment to exploring new opportunities for growth.

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What can we expect to see in 2024 and 2025?

GG: Following the exceptional performances achieved since 2020, we are looking ahead to 2024 as a transition year with a view to returning to normal during or by the end of 2025. In 2024, we will celebrate the 140th anniversary of Groupe Beneteau, which is now better positioned to adapt to changes in its markets and which, moving forward, is expected to maintain a significantly higher level of profitability than the pre-Covid position. This financial solidity will enable our Group to continue moving forward with its strategy for product development and sustainable innovation, combined with growth in new services, such as digital and the sharing economy.

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In terms of the main challenges facing the Group, you like to highlight the importance of our client experience. What concrete steps are being taken in this area?

GG: As a major player in the boat industry, we effectively aim to drive the transformation of our sector. At the heart of our Group’s strategy, two major challenges: sustainability and accessibility. Or how to open up access to the sea as widely as possible, on a sustainable basis, without compromising on our experience in any way!

Innovation will be crucial and, as always, our best ally. The premiumization that we have been rolling out for the past four years is enabling us to introduce innovations and to validate them in terms of technical aspects and the client experience, with a view to then offering them on all our products. This is the case for example with the alternative propulsion solutions that we offer for our boats. They support our objective to reduce our CO2 intensity levels by 30%, while providing a new on-board experience, with silence.

Concerning the environment, there is also a real revolution underway in terms of user practices with the connectivity of boats, which is already progressing within the Group with around 8,000 boats connected to our Seanapps app, as well as boat rental, which offers another way of bringing dreams to water without being an owner.

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How would you like to acknowledge the work accomplished by your teams, and what message would you like to share with them for the future?

BT/GG: These very good results have been achieved thanks to the quality of the work accomplished and the dedication shown by our teams. We would like to thank them for their outstanding commitment. Over 140 years, the Group has risen to a number of different challenges to establish itself as a global leader for boats and the only multi-specialist in its sector. Their passion and determination have been the pillars around which we have built our success, transforming our challenges into opportunities and our ambitions into realities.

While we are proud to celebrate our past achievements, we are looking ahead to the future with confidence and determination. To our teams, we say: by continuing to be passionate, daring, conquering, by constantly adapting, by innovating, there is no obstacle that we cannot overcome, no dream that we cannot achieve.

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The multi-specialist experience

Our 2023 performances

Business model