Lim Kok Thay’s associate Grand Banks Yachts sees silver lining as pandemic travel restrictions propel pent-up demand for luxury boats

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KUALA LUMPUR (October 12): Genting Bhd Chairman and CEO Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the 28.49% -owned Singapore partner, Grand Banks Yachts Ltd, saw a silver lining as Travel restrictions linked to Covid-19 have propelled pent-up demand for luxury boats at a time when the world was struggling to contain the spread of the pandemic.

CEO and executive director of boatbuilder Grand Banks Yachts, Mark J Richards, said in the company’s latest annual report, filed with the Singapore Stock Exchange on Monday, October 12, 2021, that border restrictions linked to Covid-19 have made yachting an attractive alternative to leisure travel, giving the entire yachting industry, including Grand Banks Yachts, a much needed boost.

“Thanks to our digital marketing strategy, we are in a better position to capture this growing demand. Armed with a Covid-19 resilient workforce, we expect a busy FY22 (ending June 30), with our net order backlog hitting a record high since the global financial crisis of 116.9 million Singapore dollars (approximately RM359.7 million) as of June 30, 2021.

“That said, we remain cautiously optimistic despite the strong financial performance for FY21, as new variants of the virus continue to emerge amid heightened health and safety concerns.

“We are experiencing an increase in material and shipping costs which could eat into our margins. We strive to ensure that our costs stay low. To be on the safe side, we have increased our cash and cash equivalents to S $ 45.2 million in fiscal 21, from S $ 10.7 million per year ago, ”said Richards.

Despite the silver lining in the form of pent-up demand for luxury boats due to travel restrictions due to a pandemic, Grand Banks Yachts unfortunately faced several disruptions to their operations in Pasir Gudang, Johor due to orders. control of the Malaysian government movements, which halted the company’s operations for nearly two months, according to Richards.

He said Grand Banks Yachts has put the health of its workers at the heart of its priorities and has implemented various measures to screen and vaccinate workers and maintain social distance between them.

“As a result, our operations in Malaysia have fully resumed since mid-September (2021). In this difficult context, we recorded 40 new boat orders and six take-back orders in fiscal year 21.

“Revenue declined slightly due to the production delays described above. But orders – many for new models with higher margins – helped push FY21 net profit to $ 4.2 million. Singaporean dollars, an increase of 300.6% year-on-year, ”he said. noted.

According to the annual report of Grand Banks Yachts, Lim held 52.61 million shares representing a 28.49% stake in the company as of September 17, 2021.

Grand Banks Yachts has 184.63 million shares issued, according to its annual report.

Genting does not own any shares in Grand Banks Yachts, according to the latter’s annual report.

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