Electrochemicals group De Nora insulated from US tariffs, says CEO

By Francesca Landini

MILAN (Reuters) -Italian electrochemicals group Industrie De Nora's strong presence in North America means it will not face any negative impact from trade tariffs imposed by the U.S. President Donald Trump, its CEO said on Wednesday.

"De Nora has one third of its sales and one third of its employees on the American continent ... almost everything we sell in the U.S. is produced there," Paolo Dellacha told Reuters after quarterly results in line with analyst expectations.

The world's largest supplier of electrodes for industrial applications marked a positive start to the year with a strong performance from its electrode and water technology businesses.

The Milan-based company posted an 8% rise in its first-quarter adjusted core earnings to 39.4 million euros ($44 million).

De Nora also stuck to its guidance for 2025 despite reduced demand for electrolysers because of a global slowdown in green hydrogen projects.

Dellacha acknowledged that some green fuel producers were facing tough times but said that De Nora was pressing ahead with contracts to deliver electrolysers - equipment needed to produce green hydrogen - to clients in energy-intensive industries.

"Where there is a high need (of green hydrogen) to decarbonise, our projects start, move, develop," Dellacha said, citing a contract to install a 200 megawatt green hydrogen plant for Shell in Rotterdam.

Another contract to make electrolysers for Saudi's NEOM project is scheduled for completion by the end of June, he said, adding that the company is also looking at increasing its budding business in lithium recycling.

The group is considering several potential acquisitions, with positive news on that expected by the end of the year, Dellacha said.

First-quarter total revenue was up 6% year on year, driven by a 15% rise in sales for electrodes and 8.7% growth in its water technologies business, though the energy transition division reported a 33% fall.

Shares in the group rose 6% in early trading and were up 1.2% by 1130 GMT, outperforming an almost flat Milan all-share index.

($1 = 0.8937 euros)

(Additional reporting by Philippe Leroy Beaulieu in GdanskEditing by Jane Merriman and David Goodman)