NORMA Group has again surpassed the €1 billion sales threshold in 2021 following the Covid-19 pandemic related business decline in the previous year. According to preliminary, unaudited figures, the company increased consolidated sales by 14.7% to €1.091 billion (2020: €952.2 million).
Contributing factors included the sound order volume with standardised joining technology in Europe, strong demand from the Chinese automotive industry and ongoing significant growth in business with water management solutions in America. Organically, sales at Group level showed strong growth of 16.2%; negative currency effects, however, lowered sales growth by 1.5%. Global supply chain bottlenecks also slowed the recovery of earnings and margin in the fourth quarter.
Dr Michael Schneider, CEO at NORMA Group, commented: “The global economic recovery has revived demand for our joining solutions. In a difficult environment, with new challenges arising from distortions in global supply chains, NORMA Group has once again demonstrated considerable resilience and achieved sound growth. We will continue to consistently focus our business model on three strategic business units with good growth opportunities: Water management, general industry applications, and mobility and new energy.”
Q4 impacted by supply chain bottlenecks
In the fourth quarter, ongoing bottlenecks in global supply and logistics chains impacted both earnings and margin. For one thing, the shortage of electronic components led automotive customers to call off lower volumes or postpone orders. For another, prices for production materials such as plastics, stainless steel and alloy surcharges, as well as for transportation services, increased noticeably from mid-2021. According to preliminary figures, sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 decreased slightly by 1.2% year-on-year to €258.1 million (Q4 2020: €261.2 million). Organically, sales fell 4.2%. Currency effects, especially in connection with the US dollar, had a positive impact of 3.1%.
Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007 and over the last 15 years has experienced every facet of the fastener sector - interviewing key figures within the industry and visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the globe.
Will manages the content strategy across all platforms and is the guardian for the high editorial standards that the Magazine is renowned.
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