Sika has reaffirmed its ambitious EBITDA growth forecast for 2024 after achieving record-high sales and an increase in market share. Chief Executive Officer Thomas Hasler stated, "Our growth initiatives, our high-performing and sustainable innovations, and our systematic sales strategy aimed at further market penetration are successful and lead to market share gains." Sales for the year ending December 31, 2024, increased impressively to 11.76 billion francs from 11.24 billion francs, marking a notable 7.4% rise in local currencies.
This figure closely aligns with the company’s guidance of 6% to 9%, as well as analysts' expectations, which estimated a growth rate of about 7.5%. Sika effectively managed to boost its market share specifically in the last quarter of 2024, benefitting from strong performances across all regions despite ongoing market challenges.
In the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, Sika’s local currency sales growth eased to 7.3%, down from 14.8% in 2023, showing resilience even amidst a negative market landscape in Germany. Conversely, sales in the Americas maintained a robust double-digit growth of 11.2%, although slightly down from 14.9%, as Sika capitalized on its strong foothold and position within the refurbishment sector in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the Asia Pacific region saw a decline in growth to 2.4% from a significant 15.2%, primarily due to the lack of government support in bolstering the Chinese construction market, which negatively impacted Sika’s project business and, to a lesser extent, its distribution business. However, a high single-digit organic growth was recorded in Southeast Asia, mitigating some negative impacts felt in China.
For the entirety of 2024, Sika remains steadfast in adhering to its strategic targets aimed at sustainable and profitable growth through 2028. The company’s stance was further reinforced by Thomas Hasler, who remarked, "Sika is confident that it will be able to successfully continue its strategy of sustainable and profitable growth in a slowly recovering economic environment." Following the release of these updates, shares experienced a marginal increase during early morning trading..