Baar, Switzerland - Speciality chemicals company Sika AG, which makes polyurethanes adhesives and sealants, says the record cold weather in March, negatively impacted its first-quarter sales, which totalled CHF 1.04 billion ($1.1 billion).
The Swiss company said that despite "a long winter", it managed to maintain sales in local currencies of the previous year's level in Q1. Exchange rate shifts had a negative impact of -0.9%.
After a good start to the year, a record cold March stalled a number of construction projects in Europe and North America, Sika said. External applications such as roof coverings, façade engineering, and renovation and refurbishment work were delayed. Sales performance in the EMEA and North America regions, as measured in local currency, was -4.5% (CHF 477.5 million) and -4.6% (CHF 135.1 million) respectively.
Business in the emerging markets continued to develop positively, with sales up 9.6%. In the Asia-Pacific region, sales were CHF 202.4 million; there was a 7.8% increase in local currencies. In Latin America, sales grew by 6.2 % in local currencies, reaching CHF 141.9 million, Sika said.
