Chemical maker Sika's sales jump on expansion, construction activity

(Reuters) - Swiss chemicals maker Sika AG on Friday posted a jump in its nine-month sales, supported by wider production footprint while an economic rebound also spurred higher construction activity in the country.

The company - whose products are used to strengthen and waterproof concrete walls and industrial floorings - posted a 16.6% jump in its sales to 8 billion francs ($7.96 billion) in the reported period ended Sept. 30.

Sales in local currencies rose 18.5%.

"In the first nine months of the current fiscal year we achieved impressive results under continued demanding conditions," Chief Executive Officer Thomas Hasler said in a statement.

Sika confirmed its recently updated outlook of increasing its annual sales by 15% and notching more than 10 billion francs in revenue for the first time.

"It is our goal to reach sales of CHF 10 billion for the first time in 2022 and increase our operating profit by an over-proportional amount."

During the first nine months, Sika's operating profit (EBIT) climbed nearly 17% to 1.23 billion francs, while profit after taxes increased 15.8% to 886 million francs.

Sika benefited from increased building activity as it tapped into government projects to rejuvenate infrastructure as well as refurbishment trends of bridges, tunnels as well as industrial and commercial buildings.

The company has tackled increased costs for raw materials by hiking its prices, while it also launched four new plants and made two acquisitions in Canada and the United States to expand its global footprint.

($1 = 1.0048 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by John Revill in Zurich and Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)