NORMA Group increased its sales in the first quarter of 2021 by 13% year-on-year to €286.4 million (Q1 2020: €253.6 million) despite the ongoing pandemic. Customer demand increased significantly in all major business segments, and in all regions, in the course of the general economic recovery – a development that was reflected in significant sales growth.
In addition to a strong water management business in the USA, global demand in the automotive industry and in the standardised joining technology business was noticeably higher once again. Organic sales in the first three months of 2021 increased by 17.8% compared with the prior year quarter. Negative currency effects, particularly in connection with the US dollar, reduced sales growth by 4.9%.
Dr Michael Schneider, CEO of NORMA Group, commented: “The good first quarter clearly shows that we are on the right track when it comes to setting the course for sustainably profitable growth. We are consistently aligning ourselves to the requirements of our customers and focusing on the strategic business fields of water management, industry applications and electromobility. We consider 2021, which continues to be impacted by the pandemic, to be a transitional year that we will use to strengthen our strategic position for the future and become more profitable.”
Growth in all three business regions
In the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), NORMA’s sales increased by 12.4% year-on-year to €132.4 million in Q1 2021 (Q1 2020: €117.8 million). This growth is attributable to the renewed upturn in demand both in the business with joining solutions for vehicles with all types of drive systems and in the business with standardised joining technology.
In the Americas region, NORMA Group increased sales by 5.1% year-on-year to €108.7 million in the first three months of 2021 (Q1 2020: €103.4 million). Substantial growth momentum was generated by the US water management business. The renewed increase in demand for customised joining solutions in the automotive sector also made a positive contribution.
In the Asia-Pacific region, sales grew by 40.3% year-on-year to €45.3 million in the first quarter of 2021 (Q1 2020: €32.3 million). The main reason for the very strong growth is the significant increase in demand in the Chinese automotive industry, an area that in the prior year quarter had been impacted by the pandemic-related lockdown in China. Within the scope of the global change program – ‘Get on track’ – NORMA Group integrated production of the Shaoxing site into its existing plant in Changzhou in the first quarter. The number of production sites in China has thus been reduced from four to three.
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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