NORMA Group (ETR:NOEJ) executives said the company finished a “very tough and challenging” 2025 while completing the divestment of its Water Management business, a transaction that Chief Executive Officer Birgit Seeger called a “milestone” that provides the foundation for a strategic reset in 2026 and a longer-term repositioning as an “industrial powerhouse for Connecting Solutions.”
Speaking alongside Acting Group CFO Okan Celiker—on his second day in the role—Seeger said the sale generated EUR 650 million of net proceeds and leaves the company entering 2026 in a net debt-free position, enabling significant shareholder returns and funding for the “NewNORMA” strategy.
2025 results reflect weaker demand and currency headwinds
Celiker detailed the year-over-year bridge from restated 2024 NewNORMA net sales of EUR 882 million. He attributed the decline primarily to weaker market demand, citing a EUR 37 million volume impact and a EUR 4 million price impact, alongside a negative currency effect of about EUR 18 million to EUR 19 million driven largely by the euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate.
By strategic business unit, Celiker said Industry Applications sales rose 8% year over year but included a EUR 34 million reallocation from Mobility and New Energy. On a like-for-like basis, he said Industry Applications sales declined 6% to EUR 252 million, including a combined volume/price impact of EUR 8.7 million and a currency impact of EUR 6 million. Mobility and New Energy net sales fell 12% year over year; like-for-like, Celiker said the decline was 7% to EUR 570 million, with a EUR 33 million volume/price impact and a EUR 13 million currency impact.
Profitability pressured; adjustments driven by transformation and PPA amortization
Celiker said adjusted EBIT for NewNORMA fell from EUR 33 million in 2024 to EUR 6.3 million in 2025. The company cited a significant negative volume/price effect on profitability, partially offset by positive sourcing-related material cost effects and initial savings from the transformation program in personnel costs, though those were “negatively overcompensated” by higher direct personnel costs. Celiker also cited a negative FX impact of EUR 6 million on adjusted EBIT.
On a regional view, Celiker said the Americas saw net sales down 8% year over year, with an adjusted EBIT margin of 3.8% supported by cost improvements intended to offset inflation. EMEA sales fell 7%, and the adjusted EBIT margin declined by “roughly 5%,” which he said was mainly due to “extraordinary impacts” in 2025. In APAC, sales decreased 6% year over year, while adjusted EBIT margin improved from 9.5% to 10.8% on a positive product mix.
Celiker also outlined adjustments. He said 2025 EBITDA adjustments of EUR 32 million were mainly tied to the transformation program, particularly severance payments. For 2026, he said the company expects an additional EUR 24 million EBITDA adjustment as it accelerates transformation initiatives into 2026. On the EBIT level, Celiker described total adjustments of roughly EUR 90 million in 2025, including EUR 55 million of purchase price allocation (PPA) amortization, with EUR 50 million related to actions in EMEA communicated previously. For 2026, he said the company expects about EUR 29 million of EBIT-level adjustments, including EUR 5 million of additional PPA amortization from historical M&A that should persist for several years at a declining level.
For 2025, Celiker said earnings per share were 2.45 euro cents. He added that NORMA is currently planning a capital increase subject to AGM approval, and therefore the company decided to pause EPS guidance for 2026.
Dividend proposal and cash flow, plus shift to net cash after divestment
Seeger said NORMA will propose a dividend of EUR 0.14 per share at the next AGM. Celiker explained that dividend metrics are based on “former NORMA” adjusted net income, including continuing and discontinued operations. He said adjusted net income for 2025 was EUR 14.3 million and adjusted earnings per share were 0.45 euro cent. With a proposed dividend of 0.40 euro cent, he said the payout ratio would be 31%, in line with NORMA’s stated policy of 30%–35%.
On cash generation for former NORMA, Celiker reported adjusted EBITDA of EUR 125 million in 2025 for continuing and discontinued businesses, down roughly EUR 19 million year over year. Net operating cash flow was EUR 96 million, a 9% decline that he attributed in part to favorable trade working capital from inventory management and a lower supply chain financing program. External free cash flow for 2025 was EUR 52 million.
Net debt at the end of 2024 stood at EUR 330 million, and Celiker said it declined to EUR 316 million by the end of 2025. For 2026, after adjusting the baseline to remove about EUR 10 million of net debt attributable to the divested water business, he set a new baseline of EUR 306 million. With expected 2026 external free cash flow of +EUR 10 million to -EUR 10 million, the planned dividend payout, and the EUR 650 million net proceeds from the sale offset by shareholder returns of EUR 260 million, Celiker said NORMA expects a net cash position of EUR 70 million to EUR 90 million in 2026.
2026 guidance: modest sales growth, margin recovery targeted
Seeger framed 2026 as a “year of reset,” supported by the balance sheet reset following the Water Management closing. The company guided for:
- Net sales growth of 0%–2%
- Adjusted EBIT margin of 2%–4%
- Net operating cash flow of around EUR 10 million–EUR 20 million (noting it is based on “former NORMA” and not directly comparable to NewNORMA)
Seeger said the EBIT margin outlook is based on internal forecasts and included results from the first two months of 2026 as well as March being “completed” and “up to date.” Management’s assumptions included mixed end-market trends—passenger cars “slightly negative,” commercial vehicles “slightly positive,” mechanical “flat,” and construction showing “moderate growth depending on the regions.” Seeger also said the outlook assumes stable geopolitical impacts such as tariffs, stable personnel cost inflation versus last year, and stable energy and raw material prices, while noting the company is monitoring developments closely.
Celiker responded to a question about the guidance ranges by saying the company chose ranges due to geopolitical and economic uncertainty, reiterating assumptions including stable raw material prices and FX rates and adding that management nonetheless felt “very confident” in the guidance.
Seeger also said the dividend policy is confirmed but updated to clarify that dividend payments are subject to NORMA Group SE reporting a net profit in its annual financial statements.
Strategic “NewNORMA” preview: restructuring, footprint, sales push, and growth
Seeger outlined a preview of a strategy that will be updated further later, describing a more focused NORMA built around Industry Applications and Mobility and New Energy. She said the company is simplifying its organization to reduce SG&A to a competitive level and speed decision-making, and is continuing footprint optimization after closing two factories in China and further focusing operations in Mexico.
She also cited attractive end markets under evaluation—such as white goods, aerospace, life sciences, and data centers—and said NORMA has “the right products,” but currently holds low market share in many of these areas due to prior focus elsewhere.
Seeger presented four pillars of the strategy:
- Restructuring: execution of the transformation program, SG&A improvements, and performance orientation
- Footprint: plant and site optimization and a target operating model aligned to the new scope
- Sales push: new business wins, pricing strategy work, higher plant utilization, and adoption of target costing
- Growth: evaluation of organic and inorganic growth opportunities in selected markets
On timing, Seeger said 2026 is the reset year, 2027 is the year of optimizing with performance improvement, and 2028 and beyond are intended to be the years of growth. She said a broader strategy update—including targets and vision for the “outer years”—is planned for the second half of 2026.
In Q&A, executives said transformation program savings were EUR 4.5 million in 2025 and are expected to be EUR 15 million in 2026, with some initiatives pulled forward that could lead to an earlier benefit profile into 2027. Asked about Middle East impacts, Seeger said NORMA has no operations in the region and about EUR 1 million of revenue exposure, though it has seen freight impacts and delays and is monitoring scenarios. On labor discussions, Seeger said NORMA reached an agreement in Maintal, Germany, on a voluntary leave program before Christmas 2025, describing it as constructive and saying the program is “fully booked,” while talks at other sites vary by plant and stage.
On shareholder returns, Seeger said the share buyback had concluded and that management plans to propose a capital reduction to the AGM so that, together with the buyback, the total would be “in the range of up to EUR 260 million.”
About NORMA Group (ETR:NOEJ)
NORMA Group SE, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered joining technology solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific. The company provides quick connectors, hose clamps, retaining clamps, and pipe couplings. It also offers various products for stormwater management, landscape irrigation, and joining components for water infrastructure solutions. The company sells its products to distributors, original equipment manufacturer aftermarket customers, technical wholesalers, and hardware stores under the ABA, Breeze, Clamp-All, CONNECTORS, FISH, Gemi, Kimplas, NDS, NORMA, Raindrip, R.G.RAY, Serflex, TORCA, and TRUSTLENE brand names.
