Company officials say Sea Ray sale drawing 'significant interest'
PALM COAST — The decision by Brunswick Corp. executives to sell off the Sea Ray Boats division in December came as the luxury boatbuilder was on track to post a $5.9-million loss in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to financial results released by the company Thursday.
For all of 2017, Sea Ray Boats posted adjusted operating losses of $17.2 million, the earnings report states.
During a Thursday morning conference call with analysts after the release of fourth quarter and full year earnings, Brunswick Corp. officials said they are pleased with how the sale of Sea Ray Boats is unfolding.
"The sales process is underway," chairman and CEO Mark Schwabero said during the call. "There has been significant interest in the business and our goal remains to complete the divestiture in the first half of the year. We are encouraged by all the interest we're seeing on the Sea Ray side."
The company operates a manufacturing facility off of Roberts Road in Flagler County that employs about 440 workers.
Schwabero stressed that closing the sale of Sea Ray will be a focus "while ensuring the business is diligently managed to support our employees, our dealers and our customers."
The rest of the company's boat segment, which includes Edgewater-based Boston Whaler, reported earnings of $21.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with $13.1 million during the same period in 2016.
Asked about the implications of the Sea Ray sale on the company's other boat brands, Schwabero said it will allow greater focus on continuing operations.
"Obviously it frees up management's time and focus," he said. "How much gets freed up is a function of who the buyer is and what services they want to have for some period of time."
Boston Whaler recently broke ground on a $42-million expansion project expected to create between 50 and 100 jobs at the Edgewater facility.
The project follows a 60,000-square foot expansion of the plant in 2015.