“Tough times”: Despite rising sales, Sika makes fewer profits in a challenging environment

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Sales rose 5.6 percent to 8.45 billion francs in the January-September period, the company announced on Friday. The biggest contribution to this was made by rival MBCC, which was acquired in May.

Sika determined the purchasing effect as 11.1 percent in the communiqué. On the other hand, the strong Swiss franc rose significantly: Calculated in local currencies, sales would increase by 12.4 percent.

Regarding the way things are going, Sika explained that the environment is economically and geopolitically challenging. The sharp increase in interest rates negatively affected the construction industry. “Thanks to pioneering technologies, Sika achieves strong results even in difficult economic times,” CEO Thomas Hasler said in the statement.

However, profit figures fell significantly. The operating result at the EBIT level decreased by 7.1 percent to 1.15 billion francs. The acquisition and integration of MBCC cost 105.3 million francs.

Additionally, Sika made a high book profit (168 million) from the sale of part of the company last year. The result was a 17 percent lower net profit of 736.5 million francs.

Sika continues to expect an increase in sales in local currencies of over 15 percent for the full year 2023, including acquired MBCC. MBCC is not taken into account in these projections for the profitability target. Sika explained that EBIT margin should increase disproportionately to sales.

(SDA)

Source :Blick