NORMA Group has released its full end of year report for 2021. The group revealed that it surpassed the one billion euro sales threshold in 2021 following the pandemic-related business decline in the previous year.
According to preliminary, unaudited figures, the company increased consolidated sales by 14.7 percent to EUR 1,091.9 million (2020: EUR 952.2 million). Contributing factors included the sound order volume with standardized joining technology in Europe, strong demand from the Chinese automotive industry and ongoing significant growth in business with water management solutions in America.
Organically, sales at Group level showed strong growth of 16.2 percent; negative currency effects, however, lowered sales growth by 1.5 percent. Global supply chain bottlenecks also slowed the recovery of earnings and margin in the fourth quarter.
Dr. Michael Schneider, CEO, said: “The global economic recovery has revived demand for our joining solutions. In a difficult environment with new challenges arising from distortions in global supply chains, NORMA Group has once again demonstrated considerable resilience and achieved sound growth. We will continue to consistently focus our business model on three strategic business units with good growth opportunities: Water management, general industry applications, and mobility and new energy.”
At EUR 113.8 million, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (adjusted EBIT) were well above the previous year’s figure (2020: EUR 45.3 million). The adjusted EBIT margin was 10.4 percent, also significantly exceeding the prior-year figure (2020: 4.8 percent). Among other factors, there was a positive impact from savings achieved as part of the “Get on track” change program.
In the fourth quarter, ongoing bottlenecks in global supply and logistics chains impacted both earnings and margin.. According to preliminary figures, sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 decreased slightly by 1.2 percent year-on-year to EUR 258.1 million (Q4 2020: EUR 261.2 million).
Organically, sales fell 4.2 percent. Currency effects, especially in connection with the U.S. dollar, had a positive impact of 3.1 percent. Adjusted EBIT decreased in the final quarter of 2021 compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 by 3.4 percent to EUR 17.9 million (Q4 2020: EUR 18.6 million). The adjusted EBIT margin was 6.9 percent (Q4 2020: 7.1 percent).
In financial year 2021, NORMA Group pressed ahead as planned with the implementation of its “Get on track” change program, which was launched in November 2019. The programme includes the optimisation of site capacities in all regions, a streamlining of the product portfolio and improvements in purchasing.
In 2021, among other things, the company generated savings by more intensively bundling its purchasing activities for production materials for various sites to a greater extent. In addition, the production site in Fresno, California, was integrated into existing plants in Lindsay, also in California, and in Tijuana, Mexico. In Central Europe, a plant in the German city of Gerbershausen will be closed by the end of 2022 and production there is being gradually transferred to existing European plants in Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Overall, “Get on track” delivered savings of EUR 27.4 million in 2021.
