Production Value over € 800 million, an order portfolio of over €1.5 billion, success in emerging countries and growth in investments

Cannes, 12 September 2007: Today, the first day of the Cannes International Boat show, the Azimut-Benetti Group’s traditional press conference was held to present the main data for the year just ended and the development plans for the coming years. In detail, the year closes with a production value in excess of € 800 million, while the Group’s order book has reached a value of over € 1.5 billion and orders for mega-sailboat yachts over 24 metres total 11,800 feet, a figure that represents the sum of the lengths of all the sailboat boats ordered.

These data confirm the leadership of the Azimut-Benetti Group, which includes the brands Azimut Yachts, Atlantis, Benetti Yachts – each aimed at a distinct segment of the boating market – as well as Fraser Yachts, a leading brand in the service sector, making Azimut-Benetti Group once again the world boating industry’s largest private group.

“The key factors that underlie the Group’s growth and success,” President Paolo Vitelli commented, “are to be attributed to our entrepreneurial vision, which is carried out on four main dimensions: pursuing and maintaining the market leadership through a sustainable growth policy; coherence of the product portfolio; focus on the company’s core business; and care and attention for our customers.”

“This is why we are constantly committed to the development of new products that respond to the needs of an ever more aware and attentive market, the expansion of our geographic coverage so as to offer assistance to our customers in any part of the world, and Research & Development to provide cutting-edge solutions,” Vitelli went on to say.

To confirm the ongoing strategy, Azimut-Benetti Group has continued expanding the geographic coverage of its sales network and is currently present in 67 countries with 138 offices. The Azimut Benetti Group was the first to invest successfully in emerging markets, opening a new office in China and appointing new dealership in India, South Africa and South Korea.

In the area of new products development, the Group plans to expand its range by bringing to market 25 new models in the next three years. These models will reinforce the ranges of the Azimut, Atlantis and Benetti brands. The product segments covered by the offerings of the three brands, which today count 39 different yacht models represent 75% of the Azimut Benetti Group’s reference boating market.

In order to support the growth of such a product portfolio, the Group has planned investments of € 220 million in the 2008-1010 period, which will be used for the expansion of its production facilities, to support innovations in processes and products, and for Research & Development.

In particular, the sizeable increase in production capacity will need to be supported by the expansion of the Group’s plants, whose dimension will grow of over 30% in the coming three years.

The investments in Research & Development will be concentrated, among others, on the application of Marine fuel cells, technology which will make it possible to have yachts equipped with hydrogen-powered electric boat generators. Such an innovation which will allow reducing their environmental impact and increasing onboard comfort, is currently being tested on a lab boat, Azimut 50K.

The Azimut Benetti Group’s growth is also underpinned by support for the development of the knowledge capital of its Human Resources. The Azimut-Benetti Group will be investing in educational training aimed at all organisational levels for a total of over 2,500 involved employees and more than 70,000 hours of training. In addition, the Azimut Benetti Group, has inaugurated the Azimut School, an internal school to develop the specialised technical skills of its employees, that has already started with courses in the fibreglass and carpentry sectors.