Egm x-rayed: Bellini Nautica wants to sell 100 yachts by 2027

Consequently, it is evident that the integration of Bellini Nautica and Rimini Service has already resulted in a dimensional leap. Similarly, pro-forma net financial debt at the end of 2023 reached Euro 3.7 million (of which Euro 3.5 million referred to Bellini Nautica), against a net equity of Euro 7.2 million, with a Debt/Equity ratio of 0.5 times and therefore entirely physiological.

The indications of the Business Plan 2024 - 2027 see a level of indebtedness at the end of the current financial year almost in line with the figure at 31.12.2023, which should gradually decrease to EUR 2.3 - 2.5 million in 2025, EUR 0.6 - 0.7 million in 2026, and then net liquidity of EUR 2.3 - 2.8 million in 2027. Ambitious plan? Yes. But not so much from the point of view of financial management (although when Bellini Yacht Srl was set up, it was predicted that in the first three years the new business would absorb cash for investments relating to the development of models and moulds, the upgrading of facilities and the need for working capital, totalling 900,000 euros), but from the evolution of margins.

It is understood that the production and sale of yachts has much higher profit margins than the trading business alone, and indeed the ebitda margin outlined in the Business Plan is expected to jump from 6% - 7% in 2024 to 15% - 18% in 2027. Year in which revenues should reach 49.7 - 60.7 million and ebitda 7.3 - 10.9 million. The year of the 'big leap', however, should be 2025, with expected revenues of between 31.7 and 35.1 million and, above all, an ebitda of between 3.2 and 3.9 million, more than double the values indicated for this year.

Can Bellini Nautica make it? The historical skills of the Bellini family and the new team of administrators and consultants of Bellini Yacht Srl are undoubted, but obviously the new yachts will have to contend with the giants of the sector, including the listed companies Ferretti, Sanlorenzo and The Italian Sea Group, which naturally monopolise the mega-yacht and super-yacht sector but are also present in the relatively smaller luxury yacht market. And in the wake of the experience of these big players also Bellini Yacht, on the occasion of the launch of its first boat, will present a line of furnishing accessories dedicated to the on-board lifestyle and leather accessories for the owner, all produced in Italy and co-branded with Pozzi Milano, another Euronext Growth Milan company.

Here it should be pointed out that although the luxury market as a whole is going through a slowdown phase, according to the 2024 update of the Altagamma - Bain & Company Monitor, the so-called 'experiential luxury' (hospitality, dining and luxury cruises, private jets and yachts) is still growing steadily. And although Bellini-branded yachts are not aimed at the top end of the market (and very limited in numbers), they are nevertheless aimed at people looking for experiential luxury. Again, Altagamma, in a recent study conducted with Deloitte, pointed out that from 2012 to 2022 the Italian yachting industry (including both shipbuilding and nautical tourism) grew 3 times more than the national GDP, with a total economic multiplier of almost 2.7 times, which rises to 6 times when considering employment in the sector.

And while it is true that 65 per cent of this value is generated by large yachts over 18 metres, this does not mean that there is no room for smaller operators too (in any case, Bellini Yacht's boats can reach 20 metres and thus fall into this category). So much so that at the next Ttg Travel Experience trade fair, scheduled to take place in Rimini from 9 to 11 October, a focus on nautical tourism will be dedicated for the first time.

In the meantime, the Bellini Nautica stock must, as usual for Euronext Growth Milan, contend with a low free float (just over 21%) and a very low trading level. Who knows whether the new Industrial Plan will be able to catalyse more interest from analysts and investors; currently the quotations are just over €3 and this could lead, in May 2025, to the exercise of at least part of the 'Bellini Nautica 2022 - 2025 warrants' which will have an exercise price of €3.46 per share, after there were no conversions in the first two exercise periods as the quotations were respectively below €2.86 and €3.14. But now the price target of the third exercise period seems to be much closer, which could also bring in financial means that will certainly be useful for the realisation of the company's dimensional leap planned for next year.