Sika sells less in the first half-year and becomes more cautious

Sales from January to June fell by 2.7 percent to 5.68 billion Swiss francs, as Sika announced on Tuesday. Excluding currency effects, which were mainly due to the weaker US dollar, the increase amounted to 1.6 percent. Of this, 0.6 percent was achieved organically and 1.0 percent through acquisitions.

Despite a difficult economic environment, the company continued to grow in local currencies and also increased its profit margin at EBITDA level compared to the same period in the previous year, according to the business performance report. However, the weaker US dollar, which lost 10 percent in value against the Swiss franc in the second quarter, and the continuing uncertainties on the global markets were reflected in the results.

Slight increase in profitability

As operating profit (EBITDA) fell at a slower rate than sales to CHF 1.07 billion (-2.1%), profitability increased. The corresponding margin increased by 20 basis points to 18.9%.

Net profit decreased by 3.9% to 554.4 million. This was slightly below the expectations of the analysts surveyed by AWP at all levels.

"In a challenging market environment, we have once again succeeded in growing above the industry trend and gaining further market share," said Sika CEO Thomas Hasler in the press release. "We are particularly strongly positioned in the project and infrastructure sector - this includes forward-looking and high-growth segments such as the global expansion of building structures in the field of artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure."

The forecasts for the current year are formulated somewhat more defensively with regard to sales. Sika expects a slight increase in sales; previously, sales growth in local currencies of 3 to 6 percent was targeted. The company continues to expect an operating profit margin (EITDA) of 19.5 to 19.8 percent.