NORMA Group SE

Q2 2026 net sales were EUR 211.8 million, down 0.6% year over year reported and up 0.1% on a comparable FX basis to EUR 213.2 million. Adjusted EBIT was EUR 7.6 million versus EUR 2.3 million a year ago, and adjusted EBIT margin improved to 3.6% from 1.1%, a 2.5 percentage point increase. In H1 2026, net sales were EUR 420.5 million, down 0.6% on a comparable FX basis, and adjusted EBIT margin was 3.3%; reported EBITDA was EUR 32.5 million and adjusted EBITDA EUR 36.7 million, with reported EBIT of EUR 7.2 million and adjusted EBIT of EUR 14 million. Management confirmed full-year 2026 guidance of 0% to 2% net sales growth, a 2% to 4% adjusted EBIT margin, and net operating cash flow of EUR 10 million to EUR 20 million. It also expects approximately EUR 29 million of full-year 2026 EBIT-level adjustments, including about EUR 24 million of transformation-related EBITDA adjustments and about EUR 5 million of PPA amortization. Net cash was approximately EUR 304 million at June 30, or EUR 361 million including about EUR 57 million of short-term deposits, and management expects to retain around EUR 70 million to EUR 90 million of positive net cash after the dividend, share buyback, tax payments and other second-half cash movements.

The CEO framed the quarter as evidence that the NewNORMA turnaround is gaining traction, with better profitability, stronger customer focus and faster decision-making under the new operating model. She highlighted three priorities: restructuring the organization, improving the footprint, and pushing sales into attractive markets such as infrastructure, data centers, sustainable energy and mobility. Her tone was upbeat and confident, especially around the large project wins and the October 19 strategy update, where the company plans to give more detail on its midterm ambition and the NewNORMA model.

The CFO emphasized that the underlying business was broadly stable despite market headwinds, with IA growth offsetting weaker mobility demand. He said Q2 adjusted EBIT improved to EUR 7.6 million and the margin to 3.6% because of volume/price, material costs and personnel costs, and he quantified H1 reported EBITDA at EUR 32.5 million, adjusted EBITDA at EUR 36.7 million, reported EBIT at EUR 7.2 million and adjusted EBIT at EUR 14 million. He also detailed cash generation: Q2 adjusted EBITDA of EUR 19.1 million, a EUR 5.7 million working-capital drag, EUR 6.8 million of investment cash outflows and EUR 6.6 million of net operating cash flow. On capital allocation, he pointed to EUR 304 million of net cash at June plus EUR 57 million of short-term deposits, and said the company expects to stay net cash positive at roughly EUR 70 million to EUR 90 million after capital returns and other payments.

Analysts pressed on the lack of a volume/price split in the revenue bridge and on whether H2 margins might weaken despite transformation savings; management said it would share that breakdown later and reiterated that, absent other changes, it expects to land around the midpoint of EBIT margin guidance while sales may come in around or even below the midpoint of the net sales range. Another major topic was the large Mobility & Energy project win and whether NORMA has fixed prior project-management issues; management said the Serbia plant is mature, that a dedicated senior project manager is in place, and that the contract includes the closest protections it could secure after long negotiations. Questions also covered the timing of the capital reduction/buyback, with management saying August is a key month, and the CFO succession process, where the CEO said the board is looking for a very experienced transformation and restructuring CFO.