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Asia Pacific Growth · Construction Chemicals · Q1 Earnings · Sika
Swiss construction chemicals maker Sika saw its shares climb over 8% after reporting first-quarter sales of CHF 2.49 billion, which, despite a 7% decline in Swiss franc terms, beat consensus estimates of CHF 2.45 billion, driven by stronger-than-expected organic growth and Asia Pacific outperformance.
Organic revenue declined 0.2%, significantly outperforming forecasts for drops of 1.7% to 1.8%. Analysts from Morgan Stanley and Jefferies described the results as "better than feared" and "reassuring," respectively, highlighting the organic-driven sales beat and improved momentum.
The Asia Pacific region was the largest outperformer, with organic sales edging down 0.2% against expectations of 7.3% to 9.5% declines, a notable improvement from a 10% drop in Q4. Specifically, Asia excluding China grew 5.2% organically, led by India and Southeast Asia, while China's construction business continued to contract.
A stronger Swiss franc negatively impacted reported sales by CHF 213 million. CEO Thomas Hasler acknowledged muted global market conditions for 2026 and confirmed the company is acting preemptively, reaffirming full-year 2026 guidance for 1% to 4% local-currency sales growth and an EBITDA margin of 19.5% to 20%.
Morgan Stanley, however, flagged continued skepticism on margin guidance.
