Sika's First-Quarter Sales Fell Slightly

By Yi Wei Wong

Sika AG's sales fell slightly in the first quarter amid a weaker performance in its European markets, it said Tuesday.

The Swiss specialty-chemicals company made 2.33 billion Swiss francs ($2.59 billion) in first-quarter sales compared with CHF2.40 billion in the first three months of last year. That compares with the average expectation of CHF2.41 billion according to a poll of analysts by FactSet.

The company said the result was driven by the weaker development of the construction industry amid higher inflation, interest-rate hikes and the war in Ukraine.

Sika maintained its outlook for the year.

The company said it projects sales will grow 6.0%-8.0% in local-currency terms, and still expects an "over-proportional" increase in earnings before interest and taxes this year.

It also still expects to close its acquisition of MBCC in the first half of 2023.

Write to Yi Wei Wong at yiwei.wong@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 17, 2023 23:33 ET (03:33 GMT)

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