Stentor Maritime: Demand for yachts has dropped

For 2009, the company already has three orders and estimates business exceeding RON 10 mln (some €2.5 mln – at an average exchange rate of RON 4/€1), up 20 percent year-on-year, according to company officials, compared to growth rates of 100 percent registered in previous years.

“We have not managed to be efficient and finalize our plans in 2008, considering prices for raw materials soared,” the Manager of Stentor Maritime, Martien du Prie, told Business Standard.

The six yachts produced in 2008 were sold abroad. Actually the company has not yet sold anything to Romanian businesspeople. All products have been exported to countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the U.S., Austria, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland, France, and the United Kingdom.

Regarding the effects of the crisis on the firm’s activity, du Prie said: “We are building luxury products and our clients are trustworthy. They are rich people, who know that once they retire they will take a trip on the Mediterranean. So they come to us.” However, for the moment, the work pace has slowed. “We have to adapt to the global economic situation,” said the company official.