By Nina Kienle


Shares in Sika rose on Tuesday after the Swiss chemicals and construction materials company's first-quarter sales beat expectations, despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.

In European morning trade, shares rose 8.7% at 149.1 Swiss francs.

Sika posted sales growth of 0.9% in local currencies to 2.49 billion Swiss francs ($3.18 billion) for the three-month period, down 0.2% on an organic basis.

The figure beat analysts' forecast of 2.46 billion francs, according to consensus estimates provided by Visible Alpha.

In the Asia-Pacific region excluding China, organic growth rose 5.2% in the quarter, with positive momentum most notable in India and Southeast Asia, Sika said.

Organic growth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region stood at 1.5%.

In Europe, construction activity picked up after the winter months, while activities in the Middle East slowed, the company said.

While Sika expects global market conditions to remain muted in 2026, the company reiterated its outlook for the year. It continues to target sales growth of 1% to 4% in local currencies and an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin between 19.5% and 20%.

The outlook is cautious but stable, Baader Europe analyst Vitushan Vijayakumar said in a note to clients.

Sika also backed its medium-term targets.


Write to Nina Kienle at nina.kienle@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-14-26 0414ET