NORMA Group closed the 2022 financial year with significant growth and an EBIT margin of 8%, with sales up 13.8% to €1.2 billion.
There were signs of stabilisation at the end of the challenging year, the group said, with year net operating cash flow at €65.3 million (unaudited figures). Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 99.0 million and an adjusted EBIT margin of 8.0%.
Positive currency effects, particularly in connection with the US dollar, contributed 6.7% to sales growth. Organically, sales grew by 7.1%. This growth was driven, the group said, by a consistent pricing policy in the face of dramatic increases in the cost of materials and intermediate products, a strong final quarter in the European business and continued robust business with water management products in the USA.
CEO Miguel Ángel López Borrego said: “The headwinds we faced throughout the past financial year were quite severe at times: drastic increases in the price of materials, uncertainties surrounding energy supplies in Europe, the lengthy and strict corona measures in China and production backlogs at some sites. NORMA Group did a good job overall of holding its own and growing in the face of these multiple obstacles. But we are not satisfied with the result. We want to expand on the momentum from the decisive spurt we had in the fourth quarter. We will use the weeks and months ahead to focus on previously untapped growth potential in the high-margin industrial and water businesses.”
Strong Q4
According to preliminary figures, sales in the fourth quarter showed significant growth of 17.1% year-on-year to €302.1 million (Q4 2021: €258.1 million). Organically, i. e. currency-adjusted, sales were up 11.3%. At €19.3 million, adjusted EBIT was 7.5% higher than in the prior-year period (Q4 2021: €17.9 million). The adjusted EBIT margin of 6.4% was slightly below the level of the prior year (Q4 2021: 6.9%).
Listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, NORMA specialises in engineered and standardised joining and fluid handling technology. With 8,700 employees, customers are supplied in over 100 countries.
