General Statement of the Management Board on the Course of Business and the Economic Situation

NORMA Group performed well overall in the first half of 2024 in a volatile environment.

Group sales reached EUR 614.8 million, 3.8% lower than the previous year’ figure (H1 2023: EUR 639.0 million). Before currency effects (-0.5%) and acquisition effects (0.2%), the decline was 3.5%. The main reason for the decrease was a drop in volume compared to the previous year, while price increase initiatives already implemented in the previous year partially offset the declining revenues. In the first six months of 2024, demand from the automotive industry was subdued, particularly in the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions. In addition, industrial business was more subdued in all three regions, driven by external market developments, whereas the water business in the Americas region recorded significant growth compared to the corresponding period last year.

Despite reduced sales, adjusted EBIT developed well, as expected, and reached EUR 51.8 million in the first half of 2024 (H1 2023: EUR 49.7 million). The adjusted EBIT margin thus amounted to 8.4% (H1 2023: 7.8%). Net operating cash flow also recorded a very positive increase in the first six months of 2024: At EUR 41.2 million, the key performance indicator noticeably exceeded the previous year’s figure (H1 2023: EUR -12.9 million). This development is due to a significantly lower build-up of (trade) working capital in relation to EBITDA for the reporting period compared to the end of 2023, as well as lower investments from operating activities.

Based on the information underlying this report, the Management Board assumes that the business environment will remain challenging in the remainder of the second half of 2024. However, based on the trend forecasts in the customer industries and (sub)markets relevant to NORMA Group, the Management Board expects that the key performance indicators in the 2024 fiscal year will develop as most recently communicated in the 2023 Annual Report and confirmed in the interim report for the first quarter of 2024. Based on this, the Management Board is maintaining its forecast for the full year 2024. Detailed information on all other components of the forecast can be found in the FORECAST REPORT.