Ferretti Group announces new CEO as Q1 orders slow
Italian yacht maker Ferretti Group has appointed Stassi Anastassov as its new CEO while reporting an 8% year-over-year decline in revenue.
Anastassov, who takes over from Alberto Galassi, was previously the president and CEO of Duracell and spent three decades at Procter & Gamble across Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. Born in Bulgaria, he also serves as a non-executive director at JS Global Lifestyle.
The Ferretti board said Anastassov’s appointment marks the opening of a new phase of strategic development. Management is already working to define a new business plan, with a Capital Markets Day scheduled before year-end to present updated strategic priorities.
Ferretti 1Q results: Margins solid, orders soft
The yacht-maker announced first-quarter 2026 results reporting a decline in revenue to €302m, offset by group’s order backlog built up through 2024 and 2025.
The group’s EBITDA margin increased by 10 basis points to 16% even as top-line volumes dipped. In absolute terms, adjusted EBITDA was €49m versus €53m a year earlier. Net profit fell 12.1% to €21m, with a margin of 7.0%.
Even though the profits were down, the sharper pressure came on the order intake. New orders totalled €180m in the quarter, a 33.6% decline from €271m in Q1 2025.
Management attributed this to the geopolitical uncertainty, particularly the conflict in the Middle East and its effects on the MEA and AMAS regions, which it said has lengthened client decision-making cycles and delayed contract signings rather than cancelling underlying demand. The Dubai Boat Show, originally scheduled for April 2026, has been pushed back to November. The company anticipates a hit on sales in the region because of these challenges.
By segment, Composite Yachts was the standout performer on orders, growing 7.3%YoY to €96m, driven by core European demand ahead of the summer season. Made-to-Measure fell 42.1% to €84m. Superyacht order intake was nil in the quarter, though the group noted negotiations remain active, with the first available delivery slot now in 2029.
Geographically, Europe was the bright spot, with order intake rising 28.2% to €99m and accounting for 55% of the total. MEA fell 33.9% and AMAS collapsed 87%, while APAC grew 35.2%, albeit from a small base.
Despite the order softness, Ferretti reported order backlog stayed flat at €1,718m as of March 31st, 2026, essentially unchanged from €1,716m at year-end 2025 and only marginally below the €1,769m a year earlier. Net backlog for delivery in 2026 stands at €470m, up from €415m at the same point last year, and the group says €772m of FY2026 revenue is already secured.
The net financial position fell to €18m at the end of March 2026, down from €111m at the end of December 2025, reflecting the seasonal cash spend during the first quarter as composite inventory builds ahead of the European summer delivery season. The decline was amplified by lower down payments from delayed order signings and deferred milestone payments linked to postponed Middle Eastern deliveries.
Management expects a recovery in Q2 as the delivery season gets under way.
Ferretti said the sales pipeline remains encouraging. Ongoing negotiations stood at approximately €630m as of 19 May 2026, up 75% from roughly €360m at the same point last year.
The group remained active on the product front during the quarter, releasing one range expansion model and announcing four new products in total, two of which represent range expansions: the Wallypower50x (two units already sold), the Pershing GTX90, the Ferretti Yachts 720 New (three units sold) and the Riva 56’ Rivale Super.
Full-year 2026 guidance was left unchanged. The group is targeting net revenue of €1,250–1,265m, (vs €1,231.7m in 2025), adjusted EBITDA of €203–210m (vs €202.8m), an adjusted EBITDA margin of 16.2–16.6%, and capex of €70–75m, reduced from €89.2m last year.
