Norma Group’s H1 revenue up 12.2% at 519m Euro

German-engineering joining technology company NORMA Group, reported Euro 519 million (Rs 3,967 crore) in sales for the first half of 2017 (H1 2016: Euroe 462 or Rs 3,531 crore) an increase of 12.2 percent compared to same period last year.

The German majors organic growth increased 4.8 percent, while its acquisitions of Autoline, Lifial and Fengfan Contributed 6.2 percent to sales, while the exchange rate helped it by 1.2 percent. 

In H1 2017, adjust EBITA saw an increase by 9.3 percent to EUR 91.7 million (Rs 700 crore) (H1 2016: EUR 83.9 million or Rs 641 crore). The adjusted EBITA margin came at 17.7 percent (H1 2016: 18.1 percent).

"The first half of 2017 went better than we expected initially. This is why we raised our forecast for the full year 2017 in July," said, Werner Deggim, CEO, NORMA Group. "The good results in the second quarter of 2017 confirm this assessment. Since the business picked up significantly in all three regions, we now expect organic sales growth of around 4 to 7 percent for 2017." 

Strong sales growth in EMEA region

Norma Group’s sales in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), increased by 10.7 percent in the H1 2017 to EUR 251.6 million (Rs 1,923 crore) (H1 2016: EUR 227.3 million). The company attributed this result to its acquisition-related growth from consolidating Autoline and Lifial.

Sales in the Americas region came in at Euro 212.6 million (Rs 1,625 crore) in H1 2017 (H1 2016: EUR 198.5 million) an increase of 7.1 percent. The company benefitted from the gradual recovery in the US market for commercial vehicles, agricultural and construction machinery. Strong business with solutions for water management in the second quarter thus had a positive effect on the growth in sales. Additional sales Revenues came from the acquisition of Autoline and positive currency effects related to the US dollar. 

In the Asia-Pacific region, NORMA Group sales grew by 48.1 percent to Euro 54.9 million (Rs 419 crore) for H1 2017 (H1 2016: EUR 37.0 million). This was partly due to successful production localisations, a high demand for joining technology, love especially in the division for customised product solutions (Engineered Joining Technology, Youth Day) as well as the acquisitions of Autoline and Fengfan. 

Successful completion of the acquisition Fengfan

In the second quarter of 2017, NORMA Group, after approval by the Competent Authorities, successfully completed the acquisition of Fengfan Fastener (Fengfan). The company had signed the purchase agreement for 80 percent of the shares in the Chinese manufacturer of stainless steel and plastic joining products as well as specialty textiles back on March 28, 2017.In January 2017, NORMA Group had already acquired the Portuguese manufacturer of metal clamps Lifial - Industria Metalurgica de Agueda (Lifial). 

Outlook for fiscal year 2017

The company had revised its sales outlook in July, 2017 on the basis of the preliminary, unaudited figures for the second quarter of 2017 as well as the expected consolidated sales revenues by the end of the year. For 2017 as a whole, the management expects organic growth of around 4 to 7 percent (previous outlook 1 to 3 percent). The company expects the acquisitions of Autoline, Lifial and Fengfan to contribute approximately EUR 55 million (Rs 420 crore) to Group sales (previous outlook: EUR 45 million Rs 343 crore). In 2017, NORMA Group aims to achieve a sustainable adjusted EBITA margin of over 17.0 percent (2016: 17.6 percent, 2015: 17.6 percent, 2014: 17.5 percent).