Aussie investors grab a slice of Malibu Boats

Malibu Boats revealed last night that Macquarie Group had bought a 5.9 per cent slice of the fast-growing US boatbuilder, which also has a manufacturing plant at Albury on the NSW-Victoria border.

The document shows the Australian finance group has bought more than 1.2 million shares in Malibu worth a cool $US50 million ($AU71 million) as part of its global investment strategy.

Macquarie Group was asked for comment.

Malibu last week reported a $US14.2 million net profit in the three months to December last year based on a significant jump in sales in North America – largely in response to a spending spree used to bolster its water sports-based core business.

In 2017, Malibu bought leisure boating brand Cobalt for $US130 million, and last year it spent another $US100 million picking up saltwater fishing boat specialist Pursuit.

Documents filed by Malibu to the US Security and Investments Commission showed the boat-maker’s Australian operations increased its earnings to $US400,000, or 5.4 per cent, to $US7.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2018, compared to the same period in 2017.

Malibu said was split between almost $US6.9 million in boat and trailer sales – the figures show 99 boats were sold in the preiod, a 5.6 per cent increase over the same period in 2017 – and about $US450,000 in parts and other sales.

Malibu Australia sells boats made under the Malibu and Axis Wake Technologies brands. The boats are modified versions of those sold in the US, but with a narrower beam to slip in under Australia’s more limited trailer width restrictions.

However, Australia does get something that Malibu’s US customers miss out on; the Albury factory has built its own retro-styled ski boat, the Malibu Response TXR, optimised just for Down Under.