Significant events and developments in fiscal year 2022

Dr. Michael Schneider steps down from the Management Board; Miguel Ángel López Borrego takes over as interim Chairman of the Management Board

Dr. Michael Schneider, a long-standing member of the Management Board and Chairman of the Management Board of NORMA Group SE since 2019, left the Management Board on December 31, 2022. The decision not to extend his service contract, which still has a term until June 30, 2023, was made by mutual agreement with the Supervisory Board. Mr. Miguel Ángel López Borrego, who has been a member of the Supervisory Board and a member of the Audit Committee of NORMA Group since 2021, took over the position of Chairman of the Management Board on an interim basis as of January 1, 2023. His function as a member of the Supervisory Board will be suspended during this period. At the same time, the Supervisory Board is looking for a long-term appointment to the position of Chairman of the Management Board as part of an orderly process. Mr. López Borrego has extensive experience in the general industrial equipment and automotive industries. He also has in-depth knowledge of NORMA Group’s business model. He most recently headed Siemens’ Spanish operations as CEO of Siemens S.A. in Madrid from 2018 until November 2022.

Forecast adjustment in July 2022 due to unstable demand, geopolitical uncertainties and inflation

NORMA Group adjusted its full-year forecast for 2022 with regard to the expected developments of the adjusted EBIT margin and net operating cash flow in line with market conditions on July 21, 2022. Due to the Ukraine crisis and the resulting gas shortage, gas and energy prices have risen massively. This has had a significant impact on NORMA Group’s cost of materials. In the wake of the developing inflation, all other operating costs, such as expenses for logistics services, have also increased considerably. These additional burdens could not be fully compensated for by higher selling prices, especially in the first half of 2022. IT implementation costs also had a negative impact on NORMA Group’s operating result. In addition, there was the risk of further lockdowns, especially in China, and a very volatile order behavior in the EMEA region.

Fifth plant opened in China

NORMA Group successfully commissioned its fifth production plant in China in the spring of 2022 as part of its localization strategy. The plant in Guangzhou is strategically located close to the largest automotive manufacturer in southern China as well as many other automotive suppliers and enables cost-efficient manufacturing directly at the point of demand. With its new site, NORMA Group further improves its market position in the world’s largest market for vehicles powered by alternative drive systems. The company will manufacture thermal management systems for battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) for the Chinese market in Guangzhou.

Good ratings in ESG, information technology and Investor Relations

NORMA Group’s activities were recognized with various awards in the course of fiscal year 2022: In the area of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance), the company ranked 10th out of 561 German industrial companies assessed by the sustainability rating agency Sustainalytics and thus performed even slightly better than last year. NORMA Group was certified as having above-average sustainability risk management and thus a low probability that a lack of corporate responsibility could have a negative impact on the company’s value.  SUSTAINABILITY RATINGS

In the field of information technology, NORMA Group already achieved a top ten ranking in its first application for the most important IT management award in the German-speaking world, “CIO of the Year.” The prize is awarded annually by the IT trade publications CIO-Magazin and Computerwoche. NORMA Group competed in the “Large Companies” category and was able to measure its current forward-looking digitalization projects against the IT innovations of large corporations.

In addition, NORMA Group received the FOX FINANCE Award in “GOLD” for an exemplary annual report and in “SILVER” for the design efficiency of its reporting documents as one of three companies in the segment “Industry, Technology, Production” for its 2021 Annual Report and its first Full HTML 2021 Online Annual Report. NORMA Group also came in second out of 70 companies in the SDAX in the capital market competition “Investors’ Darling,” in which the capital market communication of DAX companies is judged according to several hundred criteria.  IR-WORK

Electricity from renewable energy sources at all Group production sites

NORMA Group began purchasing electricity from renewable energy sources for all of its production facilities in January 2022. The company purchased EAC certificates (Energy Attribute Certificate) for this purpose. For each megawatt hour consumed, proof that the electricity was generated from renewable energy sources is now available. These certificates meet all the requirements of the GHG Protocol. Scope 1 and 2 emissions (method: market-based) were thus reduced by nearly 89% in 2022. CLIMATE PROTECTION