Significant Events in the First Half of 2023

 

Growth and efficiency program “Step Up” launched

On May 9, 2023, NORMA Group presented a medium-term program aimed at making its operating business even more efficient and productive in order to achieve further profitable growth in the three strategic business units “Industrial Applications,” “Water Management” and “Mobility and New Energies.” The action plan was developed together with NORMA Group’s management team in the spring. The program that is divided into the two core elements of Growth and Operational Efficiency consists of clearly defined individual measures that are to be tracked continuously. In the process, the needs of customers will be given even greater focus.

Growth and investment plans for the three strategic business units are bundled under Growth. The orientation towards the strategic business units is thus to be implemented more consistently throughout the company organization and the business units are to be given more self-sufficiency. For example, customer proximity is to be further increased and growth and investment decisions are to be made increasingly in the units. This will allow for opportunities to be seized more quickly and in a more targeted manner, and customer requirements to be taken into account even more specifically. In more concrete terms, the company plans to generate stronger growth in the areas of Water Management and Industrial Applications by acquiring stable business. In the areas of Mobility and New Energies, NORMA Group will be even more selective in choosing projects. 

The measures in the area of Operational Efficiency are aimed at further improving internal and external business processes and orienting them towards sustainable profitable growth. Among other objectives, the focus here is on even clearer and simpler processes. To this end, the IT systems will be optimized even further and standardized globally, and complexities will be consistently reduced. NORMA Group wants to further improve its ability to deliver, while at the same time keeping inventories low and further shortening response times. The internal reporting system will also be precisely aligned with the program’s objectives.

For more information on the new growth and efficiency program “Step Up,” please also see our INVESTOR-RELATIONS-PRESENTATION.

Basic information on NORMA Group’s organizational structure (shown below) can be found in the 2022 Annual Report, which is available electronically at WWW.NORMAGROUP.COM.

 

2023 Annual General Meeting elects new Supervisory Board members and approves dividend of 55 cents per share

Regular elections to the Supervisory Board were held at the Annual General Meeting of NORMA Group on May 11, 2023, in Frankfurt/Main: Erika Schulte and Rita Forst were confirmed as long-standing members of the Supervisory Board by the Annual General Meeting. Denise Koopmans and Dr. Markus Distelhoff were elected new members of the NORMA Group Supervisory Board. They succeeded Günter Hauptmann and Dr. Knut Michelberger, who did not stand for re-election. In the subsequent constituent meeting, Mark Wilhelms was elected the new Chairman by the members of the Supervisory Board. Günter Hauptmann had held the office of Chairman of the Supervisory Board until then. Miguel Ángel López Borrego, who served as interim CEO of NORMA Group from January to May 2023 and whose Supervisory Board mandate had been suspended during this time, resumed his office as of June 2023.

At the Annual General Meeting, the shareholders of NORMA Group represented also approved the management’s proposal to distribute a dividend of 55 cents per share. This represents a payout amount of EUR 17.5 million, or 31.3 percent of the adjusted net profit for 2022. The payout ratio is thus again within the target range of 30% to 35% of the adjusted net profit. 

 

Changes in the Management Board of NORMA Group SE

Dr. Daniel Heymann joined the Management Board of NORMA Group as COO with effect from May 1, 2023. Guido Grandi has also been the company’s new CEO since June 1, 2023. Together with Annette Stieve, who has been CFO of NORMA Group since October 2020, the reorganized three-member Management Board team seeks to develop NORMA Group strategically and operationally and position it for the future. This also includes managing and implementing the “Step Up” growth and efficiency program.

 

Production capacities for water management solutions expanded

The US subsidiary NDS opened a new plant on May 4, 2023. The site is located in Lithia Springs, Georgia, near Atlanta. Valve boxes for irrigation systems as well as products for the drainage of rainwater will be manufactured there on 10,900 square meters of production space. Within the next three years, the workforce is expected to increase from 40 to 120 people. The products manufactured at the Lithia Springs plant will be distributed to wholesalers and retailers in the US. The new location thus represents another milestone in the strategic expansion of NORMA Group’s Water Management business.

 

Celebration of production expansion in China

The grand opening of the expansion of the NORMA Group site in Changzhou, China, took place at the end of June 2023. With 9,900 square meters of additional space for production, warehouse storage and offices, the site is now ideally positioned to meet the growing demand for high-quality fastening products made of metal in China.