EQS-News: NORMA Group with sound earnings in 2024 and cautious outlook for development in the current financial year

NORMA Group with sound earnings in 2024 and cautious outlook for development in the current financial year

• Group sales 2024 down 5.5 percent to EUR 1,155.1 million
• Adjusted EBIT at EUR 92.3 million; adjusted EBIT margin at 8.0 percent
• Strong cash flow of EUR 105.4 million
• Dividend of EUR 0.40 per share proposed
• Forecast for 2025: Group sales of around EUR 1.1 to around EUR 1.2 billion; adjusted EBIT margin of around 6 to around 8 percent

Maintal, Germany, March 31, 2025 – NORMA Group today presented its final figures for financial year 2024. In a challenging market environment, the company achieved a sound level of profitability despite a drop in sales. The company forecasts stable business development for financial year 2025.

Group sales in financial year 2024 amounted to EUR 1,155.1 million and were thus 5.5 percent below prior-year figures (2023: EUR 1,222.8 million). Currency effects had a slightly negative impact of 0.3 percent. The decline in sales in the past financial year is due to a decline in demand in key markets: There was less demand for joining technology, particularly from the automotive industry and, to some extent, from the construction and mechanical engineering sectors as well. There was growth in the business with water management solutions, on the other hand.

CEO Mark Wilhelms: “Economic and geopolitical uncertainties had a dampening effect on demand in several customer industries in 2024, a development that is reflected in our business figures. Despite the drop in sales, we have achieved sound profitability in line with our forecast. In the current financial year, we will consistently move forward with the sale of the Water Management business while continuing to expand our industrial business.”

In financial year 2024, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (adjusted EBIT) totaled EUR 92.3 million (2023: EUR 97.5 million). The adjusted EBIT margin reached 8.0 percent, putting it exactly at the level of the previous year (2023: 8.0 percent). An improved cost of materials ratio and lower freight costs thanks to more efficient logistics processes had a positive impact. Earnings and margins were negatively impacted by higher personnel costs as a result of inflation-related wage increases.

The net operating cash flow of EUR 105.4 million was well above the prior-year figure (2023: EUR 87.3 million). The equity ratio increased significantly over the previous year and stood at 50.2 percent as of the balance sheet date for financial year 2024 (December 31, 2023: 46.4 percent). In 2024, NORMA Group repaid promissory note loans as scheduled and also made an unscheduled repayment of a bank loan. Net debt was EUR 329.2 million at the end of December 2024, a decrease of 4.7 percent compared to the previous year (December 31, 2023: EUR 345.4 million).

CFO Annette Stieve: “The strong cash inflow is an indication of our sound financial position, while the lower gearing reduces financing costs. Both provide a degree of security in a volatile market environment and create scope for investment in future growth, particularly in the industrial business.”

Development stable in Americas, significant decline in Europe and Asia

In the Americas region, sales in the past financial year amounted to EUR 530.4 million (2023: EUR 534.5 million). This corresponds to a slight decrease of 0.8 percent, whereby 0.3 percent is the result of negative currency effects. Development in the three business units varied in the region: While sales in the water business were up 3.3 percent to EUR 266.6 million over the prior year, sales in Mobility & New Energy fell by 4.5 percent to EUR 192.8 million and sales in Industry Applications fell by 4.7 percent to EUR 71.0 million over the prior year.

In the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), sales amounted to EUR 477.3 million and were thus 7.3 lower than in the previous year (2023: EUR 514.7 million). The acquisition of Teco, which was completed at the end of February 2024, made a positive contribution of 0.5 percent to sales growth. Business in the region was characterized by weak demand from the European automotive industry. The challenging market environment was evident in volatile customer behavior with postponements and short-term volume adjustments. Sales in Mobility & New Energy fell by 9.2 percent to EUR 354.8 million. In Industry Applications, sales were 4.1 percent below the prior-year level at EUR 116.7 million. By contrast, sales in Water Management doubled to EUR 5.8 million.

In the Asia-Pacific region, sales were down 15.1 percent to EUR 147.4 million (2023: EUR 173.6 million). This includes a decline of 1.1 percent due to currency effects. Weak economic momentum in China was the main cause of the decline in sales. Sales in Mobility & New Energy fell by 15.6 percent to EUR 101.9 million due to lower demand from the automotive industry. The decline in sales was even more pronounced in Industry Applications, where sales dropped by 23.1 percent to EUR 19.0 million. In Water Management, sales in the region amounted to EUR 26.6 million, down 6.1 percent on the previous year.

Dividend proposal: EUR 0.40 per share

The Management Board and Supervisory Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting on May 13, 2025, that a dividend of EUR 0.40 per share be distributed for the 2024 financial year (dividend for 2023: EUR 0.45). This corresponds to a payout ratio of 31.2 percent of the adjusted profit for the period in financial year 2024 in the amount of EUR 44.4 million. The long-standing dividend policy calls for a payout ratio of between 30 percent and 35 percent of the adjusted consolidated net profit.

Forecast for 2025: Stable sales development in a persistently challenging environment

NORMA Group anticipates Group sales of around EUR 1.1 billion to around EUR 1.2 billion for financial year 2025. In terms of profitability, the company expects an adjusted EBIT margin of around 6 percent to around 8 percent. Net operating cash flow is expected to be in the range of around EUR 75 million to around EUR 95 million.

Mark Wilhelms: “The market environment remains challenging and unusually volatile. Escalating trade conflicts are making it more difficult to plan with any degree of certainty and could result in turbulence in the global economy. We expect demand to remain sluggish in the first half of the year. We do, however, expect the outlook for some key markets and industries to gradually improve over the course of the second half of the year.”

Quarterly figures and Annual General Meeting in May

NORMA Group will publish its figures for the first quarter of 2025 on May 6, 2025. The Annual General Meeting will be held as an in-person event on May 13, 2025, in Frankfurt am Main.

Additional information on the business results can be found here. For press photos, please visit our Press Area.

NORMA Group in figures

Press Contact

Lina Bosbach

Director Group Communications

Email: Lina.Bosbach@normagroup.com

Phone: +49 6181 – 6102 7606

Investor Contact

Sebastian Lehmann

Vice President Investor Relations & Corporate Social Responsibility

Email: Sebastian.Lehmann@normagroup.com

Phone: +49 152 34601581

About NORMA Group
NORMA Group is an international market leader in engineered and standardized joining and fluid-handling technology. With around 7,600 employees, NORMA Group supplies customers in over 100 countries with more than 40,000 product solutions. NORMA Group supports its customers and business partners in responding to global challenges such as climate change and the increasing scarcity of resources. NORMA Group’s products help reduce emissions harmful to the climate and use water more efficiently. Its innovative joining solutions are used in water supply, irrigation and drainage systems, vehicles with conventional and alternative drive systems, ships and aircraft, as well as buildings. NORMA Group generated sales of around EUR 1.2 billion in 2024. The company has a global network of 25 production sites and numerous sales offices in Europe, North, Central and South America and the Asia-Pacific region. Its headquarters are located in Maintal near Frankfurt/Main. NORMA Group SE is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the regulated market (Prime Standard) and is a member of the SDAX.

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented statements include all statements which do not relate to historical facts and events and contain future-oriented expressions such as “believe,” “estimate,” “assume,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “could,” or “should” or expressions of a similar kind. Such future-oriented statements are subject to risks and uncertainties since they relate to future events and are based on the company’s current assumptions, which may not in the future take place or be fulfilled as expected. The company points out that such future-oriented statements provide no guarantee for the future and that the actual events including the financial position and profitability of NORMA Group SE and developments in the economic and regulatory fundamentals may vary substantially (particularly on the down side) from those explicitly or implicitly assumed in these statements. Even if the actual assets for NORMA Group SE, including its financial position and profitability and the economic and regulatory fundamentals, are in accordance with such future-oriented statements in this press release, no guarantee can be given that this will continue to be the case in the future.