Purchasing and supplier management

The procurement costs of materials, goods and services have a significant impact on NORMA Group’s earnings position. By managing all procurement activities efficiently and selecting the proper suppliers, Purchasing can make a significant contribution to the success of the Group. The main task here is to optimize the services purchased and minimize costs by taking Group-wide economies of scale into account.

Global purchasing organization

NORMA Group's purchasing activities are divided into four superordinate product groups:

•Steel and metal components

•Technical granulates, plastic and rubber products

•Standard plastics, components and commodities

•Capital goods, non-production materials and services

With its existing expertise in the product groups, the purchasing organization supports the strategic business units Industry Applications and Mobility & New Energy. In addition to this operational structure, there is a division into segments, i.e. the EMEA, Asia-Pacific and Americas regions. This matrix organization enables a centralized control by the respective experts of the product groups and the simultaneous integration of the knowledge of the regional or local purchasing teams concerning specific local market conditions. NORMA Group thus ensures professional purchasing management and the achievement of competitive prices for goods and services. Digital procurement solutions support the global organization in its work and thereby enable efficient reporting.

Development of material prices

In fiscal year 2025, adjusted cost of materials amounted to EUR 370.6 million (2024: EUR 404.5 million), representing 45.1% (2024: 45.9%) of sales. This represents an improvement in the material cost ratio compared to the previous year. EARNINGS POSITION

The purchasing volume used for internal management purposes, adjusted for currency effects, amounted to EUR 364.6 million (2024⁷: EUR 479.4 million). Of this, EUR 260 million (2024¹: EUR 330.0 million), or 71.3% (2024¹: 69%), was attributable to the procurement of production materials.

NORMA Group’s continuous focus on strategic sourcing, procurement efficiency and market adaptability has been instrumental in minimizing risks and seizing opportunities in the volatile environment.

Steel and metal components

In fiscal year 2025, the supply of raw materials such as steel, wire, and metal components to global production sites remained very good, with only a few exceptions. Even the ongoing geopolitical crises had no significant negative impact on material availability. The economic slowdown on all continents gradually led to a decline in demand in key industrial segments and consequently to lower capacity utilization at most supplier plants. Delivery times for steel and wire products normalized to a few weeks over the course of the year. However, delivery times for metal components remained at several months due to multi-stage manufacturing processes, including the frequently required surface coating. A normalization of energy prices in Europe meant that no price increases were levied –apart from the established alloy surcharges for stainless steels.

In the stainless steel product group, which is particularly important for NORMA Group, reductions in contract prices were achieved in the annual price negotiations for the EMEA region for the 2025 fiscal year. These reductions affect the base purchase prices for stainless steel, excluding alloy surcharges.

In contrast, price negotiations in the Americas region proved more difficult. The protectionist trade policies of the USA continued to have an effect, meaning that despite intensive efforts, no significant further price reductions could be achieved. In addition, from June 2025, import tariffs on steel and steel derivatives were increased from 25% to 50% under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act. In response, NORMA Group initiated internal projects as part of its commodity group strategies with the aim of locating sourcing options in the USA.

In the Asia-Pacific region – and particularly in China – lower purchase prices for stainless steel products were also negotiated. However, it should be noted that price reductions in the negotiations there were generally smaller than in the EMEA region. Furthermore, slightly higher prices had to be paid in the second half of 2025 compared to the first half. Unlike the rest of the world, the pricing model there does not separate the raw material components via an alloy surcharge.

In 2025, the prices of the monthly alloy surcharges (which include nickel, scrap, and ferrochrome prices) developed unevenly in the EMEA and Americas regions. Austenitic materials (the main cost drivers being the alloying element nickel and ferrochrome) remained relatively stable in EMEA from January to May 2025. They fell in the following three months and then rose slightly again in the fourth quarter of 2025 (Chart G017). In the Americas region, prices rose slightly between January and May and then followed the trend in EMEA.

Ferritic materials (Chart G018) remained almost stable in the EMEA region during the first quarter of 2025, but fell in the second quarter and then remained virtually unchanged with minor fluctuations until the end of the year. In

⁷ The figures refer to the entire Group, including the discontinued operation.

the Americas region, prices rose slightly in the first quarter of 2025 and remained at this level until the end of the year. Here, prices followed the main cost drivers of ferrochrome and scrap, with currency effects also playing a crucial role, as all prices are quoted in US dollars. Overall, it can be noted that alloy surcharges remained at a relatively high level in the current reporting year.

NORMA Group succeeded in slightly reducing the purchase prices for the metal components used in all regions for the 2025 fiscal year. However, it should be noted that continued increases in energy prices, rising labor costs, and packaging and transport costs counteracted any substantial price reductions.

In the product group of surface-finished non-stainless steels and cold-rolled strips, which are mainly used in the EMEA region, purchase prices were slightly reduced over the course of 2025 due to declining demand in many industrial segments.

Technical granules, plastic and rubber products

The supply of technical granules to global production sites was good throughout the entire fiscal year 2025.

The development of additional market capacities for long-chain polyamides in Europe and China, as well as the expansion of production capacities for key raw materials – particularly in China – ensured a reliable supply of materials. This was further supported by the decline in demand in important industrial segments in the EMEA region and, to some extent, also in China.

The ongoing geopolitical crises had no significant impact on the availability of technical granules in the 2025 fiscal year.

Through long-term base price agreements with strategic suppliers, NORMA Group was able to largely maintain or slightly improve the price level of 2024 throughout 2025. Only in the first half of the year did changes in some raw materials lead to moderate price increases, which normalized again in the second half of the year.

The price situation for granules, which remained largely unchanged compared to the previous year, resulted in a sideways movement in the price level for plastic components. However, these were still influenced in fiscal year 2025 by higher energy and gas prices compared to the period before the war in Ukraine.

In contrast to the improved availability of technical granules, the rubber products category was negatively impacted throughout the 2025 fiscal year, as in the previous year, by the war in Ukraine. The ongoing shortage of key raw materials for rubber components since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine led to a continued tight price situation in 2025, remaining at the same level as the previous year.

Supplier management and structure

As part of its supplier management strategy, NORMA Group's purchasing organization aims to strengthen the resilience of its supply chain through the careful selection, evaluation, and development of suppliers. Monitoring the performance of NORMA Group's suppliers is crucial for the stability and efficiency of the value chain. A key tool in this process is the annual supplier evaluation, conducted via e-procurement software. This evaluation considers globally standardized criteria in the areas of quality, logistics, and commercial aspects. The relevant departments are involved in the evaluations at the local level and are supported by regional and global commodity group management. In addition to the annual supplier performance evaluation, supplier risks are continuously monitored using automated risk management software. This helps the purchasing organization maintain an overview of supply chain resilience and initiate necessary measures in a timely manner.

NORMA Group's supplier selection process focuses on striking a balance between consolidating suppliers to reduce complexity and avoiding excessive dependencies. This balance is continuously optimized by the purchasing department. The current supplier base is structured as follows: In fiscal year 2025, 34.5% (2024: 31.4%) of the purchasing volume came from NORMA Group's top 10 suppliers. The top 50 suppliers accounted for approximately 67.9% (2024: 63.0%) of the production material sales of EUR 260 million (2024: EUR 330.0 million), which corresponds to EUR 176.5 million (2024: EUR 208.0 million).