Groupe Beneteau's sales fell 14.1% in the third quarter, and its 4 November results named no buyer for Four Winns, Glastron and Scarab Jet. The French group stopped building the three American brands at its Cadillac, Michigan plant this year and put them up for sale in June.
What Beneteau reported
Revenue for July to September was €146.6 million. For the first nine months it was €595.8 million, up 3.7%. Motorboat sales fell 22.6% in the quarter, while sailboats slipped 1.9%. Beneteau blamed lower orders and buyers waiting to see how the Middle East conflict plays out, and said orders picked up again from September after the Cannes boat show.
"Despite the contraction in third-quarter sales, this turnaround supports our objective to achieve growth over the full year," chief executive Bruno Thivoyon said. The group still expects full-year sales of €860 million to €900 million. Marine Industry News reported the figures on 5 November.
Four Winns, Glastron and Scarab Jet
Beneteau calls the three brands its "discontinued American activities". They brought in €18 million in the first nine months, against €29 million a year earlier, and €5 million in the third quarter. Beneteau expects their operating loss for the year to stop at €9 million, the figure already booked in the first half.
The June announcement gave the reasons. Bowriders and jet boats, the segments where Four Winns and Scarab compete, "have been in decline for several years", and the conflict made it worse. The brands lost about €30 million over 2024 and 2025. "A search for potential buyers is underway," the company said then.
What it means if you own one
Beneteau's June statement made one promise to owners: "After-sales service and spare parts supply will be maintained until the divestiture is finalized." It has not said what happens after a sale. That depends on the buyer. When Brunswick sold Heyday this week, the new owner kept the brand and moved production.
Beneteau is keeping seven brands: Beneteau, Jeanneau, Prestige, Excess, Lagoon, Wellcraft and Delphia. Its new models this season include the Lagoon 47, the Oceanis 42, the Swift Trawler 43 and Jeanneau's EX 34 dayboat.
The HIN codes and recall record
A used Four Winns can carry one of several builder codes, because the brand has changed hands before. The Coast Guard's manufacturer register lists 4WN (Four Winns Inc), GFN (Four Winns Boats LLC) and PFW (Four Winns LLC), all in Cadillac. Glastron appears as GLA, from its Minnesota years, and PGL (Glastron LLC, Cadillac). Scarab is PSB, at the same Cadillac address. The Four Winns HIN decoder explains how to read the full number.
The Coast Guard recall database lists three Four Winns campaigns, the newest from 1994 for the 278 Vista, and five for Glastron, the newest from 2005 for the DS 215. It shows none under the Scarab name. A campaign on record means some boats of that model and year were recalled, not that a particular hull was.
Before you buy one, decode the HIN with the free HIN decoder to check the builder and model year match the listing, then run the boat recall check. Ask the seller who services the boat now, since parts supply after a sale is not yet settled.
Check the boat, not just the listing
Type the 12-character hull number from the transom. The decoder reads the builder, build month and model year, and the recall lookup lists any US Coast Guard recall campaign on record for that manufacturer. Free, no account.
