Cobia sells well in Miami, company will increase production

swadminFebruary 24, 2006

FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Cobia Boat Company is reporting strong sales at last week’s Miami International Boat Show and said in a press release that it plans to bring a second production online in the near future.

The Miami show was the first for Cobia since the 49-year-old brand was acquired from Yamaha Motor Corporation of America by Scott Deal, Cobia Boat Company’s president.

“The Miami Show was a strong indication of the tremendous appeal of the Cobia brand and the enhancements that we have made to the entire MY 2006 line-up,” said Deal. “We received an unprecedented amount of positive feedback, not to mention great sales results. Especially gratifying were the kudos that we received on the all new 211 Bay Boat that was completely designed and built by the new Cobia team.”

Cobia also said it has aggressive plans for the future and is currently in the process of bringing a second production facility online in Marion, N.C., that will enable it to fulfill market demand for saltwater fishing boats.

“The new Marion production facility is nearing completion and we are on schedule to start production early in April,” says Deal. “The second production facility will enable us to quickly and significantly increase our output and provide both our dealer network and the consumer with the products that they want.”

The Marion production facility will be nearly 110,000 square feet and Cobia said it is being equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and equipment. It is being designed to produce over 2,000 boats per year and is located on 39 acres of land that Cobia owns. It was selected for its ability to accommodate ongoing expansion.

Analysts react to Miami show
Analysts from RBC who attended the Miami Boat Show also released a statement in which they outlined their thoughts on how the show went and what they thought were the most significant events that took place.

“The show was good overall, but not abnormally so,” RBC said in its press release. “Dealers came to the show expecting to benefit from pent-up demand following Hurricane Wilma. We came away thinking that retail activity at the show was brisk, but we didn’t see much evidence of abnormal activity attributable to recovery from the recent hurricanes.”

RBC said it saw a clear trend of larger boats outperforming smaller boats and that the disparity was even more pronounced at the show that recent trends would have predicted.

“Yacht sales were very robust, and cruisers were solid. However, we did perceive notable weakness at the entry level, which is a source of concern,” RBC said.

RBC also said that perceived strength across most Brunswick brands is encouraging, but “indications of weakness in the entry-level category present some uncertainty and bear close monitoring as we enter the selling season.”

The analysts said they also “believed MarineMax outperformed at this year’s show, owing to its higher-end focus and superior sales practices. We believe MarineMax’s sales at the show were up strong double-digit on a dollar basis. While it’s difficult to predict when these orders will actually impact the P&L due to differences in product availability, orders taken at this year’s show bode well for the quarter and year.”