By Francesca Landini and Laura Contemori
MILAN (Reuters) -Italy’s Industrie De Nora is exploring options to grow its water technology business and may announce an acquisition by year-end, its chief executive said on Tuesday after the electrochemical group reported nine-month results.
“We have concrete (M&A) projects and hope to be able to announce something by the end of this year,” De Nora’s Paolo Dellacha told Reuters.
De Nora, a global leader in industrial electrodes, also supplies equipment and solutions for water disinfection and filtration.
The group reported a 15.9% year-on-year increase in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, which reached 124 million euros ($145 million), driven by a strong performance in its water technology business.
The company raised its full-year core profit margin guidance to around 19%, up from a previous forecast of 17–18%.
The improved outlook on profitability sent De Nora’s shares soaring more than 19%, before closing with a 17% gain on the Milan stock exchange.
On the operational front, De Nora expects to complete delivery of electrolysers to Sweden’s troubled green steel startup Stegra by year-end, Dellacha said, and he expressed confidence in receiving payment.
“For us, the project will be completed, invoiced, and paid for in a month and a half,” he told Reuters, noting that the payment will come via Germany’s Nucera.
De Nora also completed delivery of electrolyser components in August for the NEOM green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Laura Contemori in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Gavin Jones)
