NORMA Group saw sales growth in three regions in the first quarter of 2017, with sales up 12.5% to €254.9 million.
Following a “challenging 2016”, NORMA’s strong start to the year included significant growth in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa regions) and Asia-Pacific regions.
EMEA sales rose 14.1% to €127.9 million in Q1 2017 (Q1 2016: EUR 112.1 million). Good business in automotive was singled out in the group’s financial statement, further enhanced by the Autoline and Lifial acquisitions.
47% sales rise in Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific sky-rocketed for NORMA Group with sales rising 47.7% in Q1 2017 to €27.4 million (Q1 2016: €18.6 million). Besides the very good development of the business, particularly in the EJT (Engineered Joining Technology) segment, additional revenues from the Chinese Autoline business also contributed to this result.
The financial picture was different in the Americas region, however, thanks to the weakness of the US commercial vehicle and agricultural machinery markets, according to NORMA. Sales of €99.7 million represented a 3.9% rise (Q1 2016: €96.0 million).
The reasons for this increase were particularly the additional revenues from the acquisition of the Autoline business, including a plant in Mexico, and positive currency effects from the development of the US dollar.
“Following an economically challenging year 2016, the first quarter of 2017 developed in line with our expectations,” said Werner Deggim, CEO of NORMA Group. “We were able to grow our sales in all three regions. The acquisitions of Autoline and Lifial contributed EUR 14.6 million to the increase in sales. We are therefore sticking to our forecast for the full year 2017,” he added.
2017 expectations
NORMA Group is sticking to its forecast for fiscal year 2017. The company expects sales to rise organically by around 1-3% in 2017 compared to 2016. In addition, revenues of around EUR 45 million are expected from the acquisitions of Autoline and Lifial. The goal is to achieve a sustained adjusted EBITA margin at the same level of previous years of over 17% (2016: 17.6%, 2015: 17.6%, 2014: 17.5%).