Agreement signed for the divestment of the Water Management business
On September 23, 2025, NORMA Group signed an agreement to divest its Water Management business to Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (ADS), based in Hilliard, Ohio (USA). The enterprise value of the transaction is USD 1.0 billion.
The Water Management business unit consists of several subsidiaries with a total of six plants in the USA, Mexico, India, Malaysia and Italy as well as additional sales and logistics locations that are subject to the contractual agreement. The Water Management business unit comprises around 1,100 employees, primarily in the Americas and Asia. The business unit develops, produces, and sells irrigation systems, products for rainwater management, and connection components for water infrastructure. In 2024, the Water Management business unit generated sales of around EUR 300 million (around USD 320 million).
After deducting taxes and transaction costs, and taking into account the customary purchase price adjustment clauses, NORMA Group expects, according to initial calculations, a net cash inflow of around EUR 620 million to around EUR 640 million from a successful closing. The Management Board will use around EUR 300 million of the proceeds to repay financial debt. In addition, the Management Board is considering setting aside an amount of up to EUR 70 million for value-enhancing acquisitions within the Industry Applications strategic business unit. The Management Board plans to return the remaining portion of the net cash inflow to shareholders. After the completion of the sale, the Management Board and Supervisory Board will consult on the final use of the proceeds. Completion of the transaction is currently expected in the first quarter of 2026 and is subject to the usual regulatory approvals.
At the same time as announcing the signing of the agreement, NORMA Group published an adjustment to its forecast for Group sales and the adjusted EBIT margin for the 2025 fiscal year. Since September 23, 2025, the Management Board has expected Group sales from continuing operations to be between around EUR 810 million and around EUR 830 million (previously including Water Management: around EUR 1.1 billion to around 1.2 billion). The adjusted EBIT margin from continuing operations is forecast to be in a range of around 0% to around 1% (previously including Water Management: around 6% to around 8%). Further information on NORMA Group’s forecast for the 2025 fiscal year can be found in the section FORECAST 2025.
Impact of the divestment of Water Management on financial reporting for the third quarter of 2025
The Water Management business unit is classified as a “discontinued operation” effective September 30, 2025. Therefore, the key figures related to Water Management in this interim statement for the third quarter of 2025 – retrospectively to January 1, 2025, and with adjustment of the prior year figures – are no longer included in the corresponding figures within the explanations of special effects, sales and earnings development and in the explanations of segment development.3
3 Exceptions to this are indicated and reasons explained in each case.
Until the transaction is completed, the Water Management business unit’s profit after tax will be presented as a separate item in NORMA Group’s net income for the year (“Gain (loss) from discontinued operation”). The assets and liabilities were reclassified to a disposal group at the end of the third quarter; scheduled depreciation of the assets will be suspended as of this date.
A small portion of the Australian business, previously part of the Water Management business unit, is not included in the sales agreement and will therefore be retained within NORMA Group. This decision is based on operational circumstances, the product portfolio, and specific customer requirements that are more closely aligned with the Industry Applications business unit than with the global strategy of the divested water business. These primarily include applications for general and agricultural industries, as well as retail distribution. This allocation underscores a closer content-related and market-related connection between the Australian business and the Industry Applications business unit and supports the strategic decision to align the business accordingly. Against this backdrop, the related revenue was allocated to the Industry Applications business unit as of September 30, 2025. This integrated approach also supports efficient resource utilization, strengthens market relevance, and contributes to increasing customer satisfaction.
Non-cash effective goodwill impairment in the EMEA region as of September 30, 2025, amounting to EUR 50 million
In the course of the preparation of NORMA Group SE's interim statement for the third quarter of 2025, a non-cash effective goodwill impairment charge totalling EUR 50 million was identified for the EMEA region as a result of a mandatory impairment test. The impairment requirement is mainly attributable to revised revenue assumptions in the EMEA region for the coming fiscal years. The impairment requirement has a corresponding impact on consolidated earnings after taxes, but does not lead to a cash outflow.
Global transformation into a focused “Industrial Powerhouse”
The vision of the global transformation that began in 2025 is: NORMA Group will position itself as an “Industrial Powerhouse,” that is, as a focused supplier of joining technology with target customers in the business units Industry Applications and Mobility & New Energy. It will differentiate itself from its competitors as a provider of innovative, highly advanced solutions. This includes, on the one hand, the consistent expansion of its Industry Applications business – both organically and through acquisitions. To this end, NORMA Group will invest in innovations and seize opportunities offered by the market. On the other hand, existing strengths in the Mobility & New Energy area will be utilized to generate profitable margins. There are significant synergies between the two business areas Industry Applications and Mobility & New Energy, which can be utilized even better in the new constellation. As a result, NORMA Group is expected to achieve a double-digit adjusted EBIT margin in the medium term.
With the publication of its interim statement for the first quarter of 2025 on May 6, 2025, NORMA Group announced that the Management Board, with the involvement of all business units, is conducting a comprehensive analysis to identify significant optimization potential and make the organization as efficient as possible worldwide. This includes reviewing organizational structures and eliminating unnecessary costs. This is intended to secure the Group’s competitiveness in the future and thus enable a return to a successful long-term growth path.
Against this backdrop, NORMA Group 2025’s management, together with all business units, has worked on a comprehensive analysis for a globally oriented transformation. This analysis is intended to enable the Group to achieve the stated target vision.
The intended measures can essentially be divided into the following three blocks:
- More efficient organization
- Optimization of global location landscape
The cumulative total cost for the implementation and execution of the planned measures from the transformation plan is expected to range from approximately EUR 54 million to approximately EUR 61 million by 2028.
In contrast, the measures from 2025 onwards will lead to cost savings that will reach a global range of around EUR 82.5 million to around EUR 91.5 million over the subsequent years up to 2028.
The transformation plan therefore fundamentally includes measures that go beyond the “Step Up” program introduced in summer 2023. As part of the global transformation, “Step Up” will therefore be continued as a continuous improvement program. Examples of the “Step Up” measures implemented in the first nine months of 2025 can be found in the INVESTOR RELATIONS PRESENTATION. There you will also find further information on NORMA Group’s global transformation.
Birgit Seeger becomes CEO of NORMA Group SE
On August 4, 2025, the Supervisory Board of NORMA Group SE appointed Birgit Seeger as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NORMA Group for a period of three years. Ms. Seeger assumed the position effective November 1, 2025. Mark Wilhelms, having served as interim CEO of NORMA Group, stepped down from the Management Board at the end of October 31, 2025, and returned to the Supervisory Board effective November 1, 2025.
Birgit Seeger has many years of management experience, including positions in industry and management consulting. Previously, as Senior Vice President, she was responsible for the Comfort Actuators product unit at Robert Bosch GmbH, where she was responsible for the global business with electric drives for seats, sunroofs, and window regulators in vehicles. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Konecranes Oyj, a manufacturer of industrial and harbor cranes and lifting equipment listed on the Finnish stock exchange. Previous positions included international consulting firms and various management positions in the automotive supplier industry. After studying business administration at the University of Tübingen, she began her career as a project manager at Robert Bosch GmbH. Further information can be found in the corresponding press release: WWW.NORMAGROUP.COM.
Investor Relations at NORMA Group once again honored at “Investors’ Darling”
In this year’s “Investors’ Darling” ranking, NORMA Group was awarded first place out of 70 SDAX companies. NORMA Group also received three additional special awards. These are presented to Prime Standard-listed companies for outstanding performance as part of the “Investors’ Darling” program. Particular recognition was given to the areas of reporting, digital communications, and investor relations.
NORMA Group receives major order for connectors for new electric car platform
NORMA Group has secured a new contract to supply eM Safe quick connectors for a new platform of electric vehicles by a large US-based car maker. Starting in 2027, NORMA Group will deliver quick connectors for the battery thermal management of the vehicles. Up to 90,000 electric cars are to be equipped every year until 2034. The contract has a volume of around EUR 14 million. The new BEV platform consists of cost-efficient electric vehicles, aiming to support expansion of electric mobility among a wide range of customers. Further information can be found in the corresponding press release at WWW.NORMAGROUP.COM.
NORMA Group develops new high-performance cable cleat and receives major order for data center project in Asia
NORMA Group has developed a new corrosion-resistant stainless-steel clamp for securing cable harnesses that is specifically tailored to the requirements of large-scale electrical installations such as data centers. The “Quad Cable Cleat” is engineered to secure up to four cables simultaneously, offering superior mechanical stability, enhanced protection, and efficient space utilization in high-demand environments. The NORMA Group received a significant order from a US customer for a data center project in Malaysia, which includes the new quad cable cleat. The company will deliver more than 92,000 cable cleats, thereof around 38% attributed to the new quad cable cleat. The cable cleats will be used to secure the more than 170 kilometers of electrical cables needed to power the data center. For more information, please see the corresponding press release at WWW.NORMAGROUP.COM.
Development of key financial and non-financial control indicators in the 2025 reporting period
NORMA Group’s business performance in the nine-month period of 2025 was impacted overall by market and environment-related volatility. This particularly affected the volume business in the Mobility & New Energy business unit, where the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions recorded significantly lower sales. This was due to the sharply fluctuating demand within the automotive and commercial vehicle industries due to the uncertain external environment. In contrast, the Industry Applications business unit recorded sales growth in the EMEA and Americas regions. This development was further supported by the reclassification of sales from the Mobility & New Energy business unit to the Industry Applications business unit in 2025. The internal reallocation of the Australian business following the sale of Water Management also had an increasing effect on Industry Applications’ revenues in the first nine months of 2025. For further information, please refer to section IMPACT OF THE DIVESTMENT OF WATER MANAGEMENT ON FINANCIAL REPORTING FOR THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2025
Against this backdrop, NORMA Group’s consolidated sales totaled EUR 631.8 million in the first nine months of 2025, falling 6.7% short of the previous year’s level (Q1-Q3 2024: EUR 676.9 million). This includes negative effects from currency translation (-1.5%). Adjusted for this, the decline was 5.1%.
Adjusted EBIT for the period January to September 2025 reached EUR 5.9 million (Q1–Q3 2024: EUR 29.3 million), resulting in an adjusted EBIT margin of 0.9% (Q1–Q3 2024: EUR 4.3%). The margin development was impacted by the lower sales level compared to the previous year and the resulting effects, as well as by special costs. The latter were impacted by the introduction of a new ERP system at the Maintal site at the beginning of 2025 and were only partially offset by a slightly more positive trend in the third quarter of 2025.
Net operating cash flow4 amounted to EUR 59.1 million in the first nine months of 2025 (Q1–Q3 2024: EUR 69.4 million). This development is primarily due to a significantly lower adjusted EBITDA compared to the period January to September 2024. In contrast, a lower increase in (trade) working capital in the reporting period 2025 supported the operating net cash flow, as did a sequential prioritization of investment activities.
In the first nine months of 2025, efficiency measures were implemented to avoid Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, the full 12-month reduction or avoidance effect of which amounts to approximately 1,193 tons of CO2 equivalents.5
4 Figure not adjusted. Key figures including continuing and discontinued operations.
5 The full 12-month reduction/avoidance effect presented here includes contributions from the discontinued Water Management business unit.
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These contents are part of the Non-financial Group Report and were subject to a separate limited assurance examination.