NORMA Group forecast for the fiscal year 2025

The Management Board is sticking to the forecast for the full year 2025 announced on March 7, 2025. Based on the assessments of relevant economic research institutes and industry associations presented in the ANNUAL REPORT 2024, the Management Board of NORMA Group expects overall economic development to remain challenging in fiscal year 2025. The ongoing geopolitical tensions in particular are causing uncertainty and high volatility in the market environment. Meanwhile, an increasingly looming trade war due to protectionist measures by the US government – such as the introduction of punitive tariffs and the corresponding global consequences – are seen as potentially negative factors. Further developments in the war in Ukraine and the Middle East and the associated impact on global value and transport chains are also expected to continue to have a negative impact on global economic development. Due to the continued difficult environment, the Management Board of NORMA Group SE is looking ahead to fiscal year 2025 with the necessary caution. In particular, the exact consequences of the special tariffs, some of which have been announced, some of which have been implemented and some of which have been suspended, as well as any other trade policy restrictions, cannot be conclusively assessed at the time of publication of this interim report, as the external decision-making processes and announcements of measures are highly volatile. Accordingly, they are only included in the following forecast to the extent that they had already been decided on March 7, 2025.

 

Development of Group sales in fiscal year 2025

Against the background of the persistently volatile general conditions, the Management Board of NORMA Group assumes that business development will continue to be characterized by subdued demand, especially in the first half of 2025. In contrast, the second half of 2025 is expected to see a revival of business in parts of the customer industries relevant to NORMA Group. Taking into account the factors mentioned here, the Management Board anticipates Group sales in the range of around EUR 1.1 billion to around EUR 1.2 billion for the 2025 fiscal year. This forecast was made on the assumption that no further significant negative effects will occur worldwide in the course of 2025, for example in connection with geopolitical risks that could lead to significant pressure on NORMA Group’s business development.

 

Adjusted EBIT margin

An important focus of NORMA Group is on maintaining and improving profitability. Accordingly, all business activities are strategically aligned to this. The Group’s profitability is to be sustainably increased through suitable operational efficiency measures, for example as part of the "Step Up" growth and efficiency program. This includes, for example, continuous optimization of operational business processes aimed at gearing the Group towards sustainable profitable growth and further improving and maintaining NORMA Group’s competitiveness in the long term. The measures from the "Step Up" program will continue to be implemented in the 2025 fiscal year, which is expected to have a positive impact on earnings performance. At the same time, it can be assumed that the declining sales trend since the 4th quarter of 2024, which has been influenced by external factors, will also be reflected in the EBIT margin, particularly in the first half of 2025. In addition, the development of the adjusted EBIT margin in 2025 is influenced by expenses in connection with the early departure of former CEO Guido Grandi, which was announced on February 17, 2025.

Against this backdrop, the Management Board anticipates an adjusted EBIT margin in the range of around 6% to around 8% for the 2025 fiscal year. The forecast for the adjusted EBIT margin is subject to the condition that no massively unfavorable market conditions arise that could lead to significant additional costs or restrictions in the implementation of operational efficiency measures.

With regard to the adjustment of the result, the Management Board expects, as in previous years, that amortization in connection with purchase price allocations in the context of past business combinations on tangible and intangible assets will be taken into account. These will amount to approximately EUR 15 million in total, depending on the development of exchange rates. 

In addition, incidental transaction costs totaling around EUR 20 million are expected in connection with the sale of the global water management business. On the other hand, extraordinary expenses are expected for the global transformation of the organization. These are expected to amount to up to around EUR 30 million in 2025. The company intends to adjust all extraordinary expenses in the operating result (EBIT). 

 

Net operating cash flow

Assuming continued positive effects in the area of working capital management, net operating cash flow is expected to reach a value in the range of around EUR 75 million to around EUR 95 million in the 2025 fiscal year.

 

NORMA Value Added (NOVA)

For fiscal year 2025, the Management Board expects NOVA to be in the range of around EUR -40 million to  around EUR -20 million.

 

Carbon dioxide emissions

The sustainable reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG emissions) at NORMA Group’s sites worldwide is a key objective. The target set for the 2025 fiscal year is to avoid 1,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions by implementing measures. This target includes not only NORMA Group’s production sites, but also its distribution centers. In addition, the figure of 1,000 tons of GHG emissions refers to both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions combined.