Yachting Art Magazine

The Japanese group Yamaha Motor has published declining financial results for the third quarter of 2025, affected by a drop in certain sales and an increase in development and production costs. Consolidated revenue stood at ¥1.91 trillion (approximately €11.6 billion), down 3.4% compared to the same period in 2024. The decline was mainly due to lower sales of personal watercraft and all-terrain vehicles, while the motorcycle and marine divisions performed better.

Operating profit fell more sharply, to ¥112.4 billion (€682 million), a 44% year-on-year decline. The operating margin was 5.9%, compared with 10.2% last year. Yamaha cites a combination of unfavourable factors: increased research and development expenditure, higher wage and administrative costs, impairment losses on assets related to its recreational land vehicle business, and the growing impact of US customs tariffs.

Net income came in at ¥43.4 billion (€263 million), compared with ¥136.1 billion (€825 million) a year earlier, a contraction of 68%. According to President and CEO Motofumi Shitara, the trends observed in the first half of the year continued: stable overall sales, but a sharp decline in operating profit.

The motorcycle sector, Yamaha's historic core business, however, made a positive contribution to the results. Sales remained high, supported by demand in Southeast Asia and Latin America. In some regions, volumes increased thanks to the marketing of higher value-added models and the expansion of the electric range. This momentum partially offset the slowdown in other divisions and stabilised the group's revenues. However, pressure on margins remains high, particularly due to rising logistics and raw material costs.

The marine sector, which includes outboard engines, boats and personal watercraft, recorded quarterly sales of ¥399.3 billion (€2.42 billion), down 4% year-on-year. Business remains mixed: sales of outboard motors rose slightly to ¥263.7 billion (€1.6 billion), driven by demand in Europe and the United States. However, sales of boats and personal watercraft fell by 14% to ¥135.6 billion (€825 million), due to the global recreational boating market normalising after several years of strong post-pandemic growth.

The operating profit for the marine segment amounted to ¥49.2 billion (€298 million), down 38%, with a margin of 12.3% compared to 19.1% a year earlier. Here again, increased R&D expenditure and structural costs, as well as US taxes, weighed on profitability.

Nevertheless, Yamaha is maintaining its annual targets unchanged: consolidated sales of approximately ¥2.57 trillion (€15.6 billion), operating profit of ¥120 billion (€727 million) and net profit of ¥45 billion (€273 million). The group intends to continue its optimisation efforts and target its investments on medium- and long-term growth in a global environment that is considered ‘difficult’.