Ferretti boss flags appetite for M&A as annual core profit rises 

By Laura Contemori

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Italian yacht maker Ferretti reported a 6.7% rise in its adjusted full-year core profit on Tuesday, along with a nearly 47% jump in orders for made-to-measure yachts.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to 202.8 million euros ($238.7 million) last year. The order backlog at the end of 2025 stood at 1.72 billion euros, up about 14.5% from end-September. Largest share of new orders, at 608.1 million euros, were for custom yachts.

"2025 has been a challenging year for the global yachting industry and in highly selective market conditions companies with industrial vision, financial discipline and strategic consistency truly stand out," CEO Alberto Galassi said in a statement.

He told analysts during a conference call that 2026 would be a year for acquisitions, saying there were "incredible opportunities" in the market.

He said Ferretti had been pursuing "one opportunity for more than six or seven months", which he expects the company's new board to address. "Don't forget there's going to be a new board of directors, so the strategy may completely change or remain the same in 2026," he said, however.

In January, Czech investment group KKCG launched an offer worth up to 182 million euros to double its 14.5% stake in Ferretti and seek changes to a board appointed by the company's Chinese controlling shareholder, which later said it did not intend to support the bid and could raise its own holding.

Ferretti's board on Tuesday appointed investment management firm Altus Capital Limited, which has branches in Honk Kong and Singapore, as an independent financial advisor to assist the committee evaluating KKCG's offer.

The company's shares rose as much as 5.9% after the results, hitting their highest price on record at 4.09 euros.

($1 = 0.8497 euros)

(Reporting by Laura Contemori; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)