The share of revenue generated by foreign Group companies was 89.7% in the first three months of 2025. This represents an increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year (Q1 2024: 88.7%).
EMEA
In the period from January to March 2025, sales (external sales) in the EMEA region amounted to EUR 119.9 million, down 12.2% on the previous-year figure (Q1 2024: EUR 136.5 million). Currency effects had a slight positive impact of 0.1%, while the Teco business, which has been part of NORMA Group since 2024, contributed 0.5% to revenue in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Before these effects, the decline in sales was 12.8%. This is primarily attributable to lower volumes.
In the Industry Applications segment, sales in the EMEA region amounted to EUR 32.1 million in the period from January to March 2025 (Q1 2024: EUR 31.6 million). In the current reporting period, NORMA Group generated revenues of EUR 2.4 million (Q1 2024: EUR 1.5 million) in the EMEA region with its Water Management business and revenues of EUR 85.4 million in Mobility & New Energy (Q1 2024: EUR 103.5 million). While lower volumes in Industry Applications and Water Management were more than offset by the reclassification of revenues in the current year, this had an additional, noticeably dampening effect on Mobility & New Energy, on top of the already weak customer demand from the European automotive industry. The EMEA region’s share of Group sales was at 42% in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2024: 44%).
Adjusted EBIT in the EMEA region declined significantly in the current reporting period compared with the prior-year quarter (Q1 2025: EUR -1.2 million; Q1 2024: EUR 10.6 million). The adjusted EBIT margin amounted to -1.0% (Q1 2024: 7.4%). The loss in the first quarter of 2025 was due to the decline in sales caused by the market environment and temporary additional expenses from the implementation of an ERP system at the Maintal site, which began at the start of the year. These mainly comprised costs for special freight and shifts as well as for IT and consulting services. This was due to system-related delays in the logistics of goods removal and processing. The EBIT margin in the EMEA region was also negatively impacted by the temporary structural inflexibility in the area of personnel due to lower revenues. As a result of these conditions, personnel costs could not be fully adjusted to the sales level in the first quarter of 2025.
Investments in the EMEA region in the first quarter of 2025 amounted to EUR 3.2 million (Q1 2024: EUR 3.6 million). They primarily related to the site in Germany.
America
External sales of EUR 130.6 million were generated in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2024: EUR 135.4 million) in the Americas region, a decrease of 3.5% compared to the same corresponding quarter of the previous year. The main driver of the decline in the Americas was a decrease in sales volume. By contrast, positive currency effects, primarily in connection with the US dollar (+2.5%), supported the revenue level in the Americas region in the first three months of 2025.
The subdued sales performance in the Americas region in the period from January to March 2025 was primarily due to subdued customer ordering in the Water Management business of the US subsidiary NDS (Q1 2025: EUR 61.2 million, Q1 2024: EUR 64.9 million) as a result of weather-related one-time effects. Sales volume in the Mobility & New Energy division also declined in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Revenues reached EUR 46.8 million (Q1 2024: EUR 52.0 million). This includes the reclassification in the current fiscal year of customer industries and revenues previously allocated to Mobility & New Energy (revenues of EUR 4.2 million) to Industry Applications. While the reclassification had a negative impact on the revenue level of Mobility & New Energy in the Americas region, sales in Industry Applications rose to EUR 22.6 million, mainly driven by the adjustment of revenue allocation (Q1 2024: EUR 18.5 million).
Overall, the Americas region rose to 46% of Group sales in the current reporting quarter (Q1 2024: 44%).
Adjusted EBIT in the Americas region declined to EUR 12.8 million in the first quarter (Q1 2024: EUR 15.2 million). The EBIT margin was 9.6% (Q1 2024: 11.1%). The margin in the Americas region was impacted by temporary inefficiencies in personnel structures, resulting in personnel expenses rising disproportionately to the weak sales. By contrast, slightly lower costs for regular freight supported the margin in the Americas region.
In the first three months of 2025, capital expenditures totaling EUR 5.3 million were made in the Americas region (Q1 2024: EUR 4.8 million) mainly in relation to plants in the U.S.
Asia-Pacific
In the Asia-Pacific region, external sales in the first quarter of 2025 amounted to EUR 33.7 million and were thus 8.0% below the figure for the corresponding quarter of the previous year (Q1 2024: EUR 36.6 million). Before currency effects (+1.0%), which had an upward impact on revenue development in the Asia-Pacific region in the period from January to March 2025, the decline – primarily due to volume-related factors – was 9.0%.
While sales in the Water Management segment rose to EUR 7.6 million (Q1 2024: EUR 6.6 million), mainly due to the reclassification of sales between the strategic business units in the current fiscal year (effect of EUR 0.6 million), the Mobility & New Energy and Industry Applications segments reported weak sales development. Revenues from Industry Applications declined compared with the previous year (Q1 2025: EUR: 3.9 million; Q1 2024. EUR 4.9 million). In Mobility & New Energy, sales in the Asia-Pacific region amounted to EUR 22.3 million in the current reporting quarter (Q1 2024: EUR 25.1 million). The Asia-Pacific region still accounted for around 12% of Group sales in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2024: 12%).
Adjusted EBIT in the Asia-Pacific region was EUR 2.0 million in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2024: EUR 2.7 million). The adjusted EBIT margin reached 5.5% (Q1 2024: 6.9%). The decline was mainly due to higher personnel costs resulting from an existing lack of flexibility in personnel structures in connection with lower sales.
Investments in the Asia-Pacific region amounted to EUR 1.1 million in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2024: EUR 0.8 million) and were primarily attributable to the plants in China.
Legend
These contents are part of the Non-financial Group Report and were subject to a separate limited assurance examination.