{"date":"2026-04-01T00:00","headerImageUrl":"https://structuredproducts-ch.leonteq.com/product-news/product-homepage-banner/sika-26_leonteq-structured-products_product+homepage+banner.jpg","subTitle":"Cyclical Stock in a Market Storm","windowTitle":"Sika","category":"underlying-in-focus","title":"Sika","body":"<p>The Zurich Congress Centre was fully booked when Sika held its 2026 Annual General Meeting on March 24. Shareholders were not deterred by the weak performance of the construction chemicals group. Over the past year, Sika\u2019s share price fell by around a quarter, making it the weakest performer in the SMI®. After a solid start to 2026, the cyclical stock turned downward again. By the end of the first quarter, Sika once more finds itself at the bottom of the SMI® table with a price decline. The dividend approved at the AGM of CHF 3.70 per share, 2.8% higher than the previous year, offers only limited consolation. Since war broke out in the Middle East, hopes that Sika could gain operational momentum in the current financial year have been dashed. In 2025, the company - specialising in chemicals for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing and protecting - was weighed down in part by the real estate slump in China, leading to declines in both sales and earnings (see chart).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div>\n<generic-chart title=\"Revenue (in CHF Mio.) and Ebitda Margin (in %)\">\n  <x-axis categories=\"2021,2022,2023,2024,2025\"/>\n      <chart-column title=\"Revenue (in CHF Mio.)\" data=\"9252.3,10491.8,11238.6,11763.1,11201.3\" format=\"number\"/>\n      <chart-line title=\"Ebitda Margin (in %)\" data=\"19,18.7,18.2,19.3,18.4\" format=\"number\" yAxisRight=\"true\"/>\n<\/generic-chart> \n<\/div>\n<footer>Source: Sika, as of: March 2026<br />Historical data is not a reliable indicator of future performance.<\/footer>\n\n<h3>Muted Expectations<\/h3>\n<p>On the day of the AGM, CEO Thomas Hasler spoke in detail in an interview with Reuters about the consequences of the latest geopolitical escalation. He had to slightly adjust expectations for the current year. Hasler expects sales and earnings to land in the middle to lower end of the guided range. Sika aims to increase sales in local currencies by 1% to 4% in 2026. At the same time, the operating margin (EBITDA level) is expected to come in between 19.5% and 20%. In February, according to his own statements, the CEO had still considered reaching or even exceeding the upper end of the range as possible. However, Sika is once again facing rising transport and raw material costs. According to Hasler, the company has already responded with price increases.<\/p>\n\n<div><generic-chart title=\"Sika Shareprice (in CHF)\"> \n    <chart-line title=\"Sika\" path=\"Chart_Sika26.csv\" format=\"date, number\"><\/chart-line> \n    <x-axis type=\"datetime\"><\/x-axis> <\/generic-chart><\/div>\n<footer>Source: Refinitiv, as of: March 31, 2026<br />Historical data is not a reliable indicator of future performance.<\/footer>\n\n<h3>AI as a Beacon of Hope<\/h3>\n<p>In addition to cost pressure, the threat of an economic slowdown and the risk of rising interest rates pose challenges for the company, whose customers mainly come from the construction and automotive industries. For now, the CEO sees no need to expand the cost-cutting programme. Sika plans to save CHF 150 - 200 million by 2028. \u201cThere are no plans to cut jobs or close plants, as there is no decline in demand that would justify such measures,\u201d said Hasler. So far, there are no signs that customers intend to cancel projects. \u201cConstruction work continues, even in the Middle East,\u201d he added. However, this could change if the conflict persists for a longer period. A positive factor for Sika remains the boom in data centres driven by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). According to Hasler, the group is currently involved in around 400 such projects. As a result, the share of this business could increase from 4% last year to 5% in the current period.<\/p>\n\n<h3>A Special Strategy<\/h3>\n<p>This glimmer of hope does little to change the precarious situation of the Sika share. The price drop has led to significantly increased volatility. Three-month at-the-money implied volatility is now almost as high as it was a year ago. In early April 2025, US tariff announcements - referred to as \u201cLiberation Day\u201d - triggered turmoil in the markets. This heightened volatility is reflected in the terms of barrier reverse convertibles. With this structure, investors effectively act as sellers of volatility. A new soft-callable BRC on Sika offers an attractive coupon of 9% per annum, with a barrier set at 65% of the initial level. Naturally, these parameters come with a downside: higher volatility significantly increases the risk of breaching the barrier.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Callable Barrier Reverse Convertible<\/h3>\n<div>  \n    \n    <SavedSearch :allProducts=\"false\" :filter=\"{&quot;countrySpecificTitles&quot;:[],&quot;couponFrequencies&quot;:[],&quot;distanceToBarriers&quot;:[],&quot;underlyings&quot;:[],&quot;maturityRangeKey&quot;:[],&quot;marketVenues&quot;:[],&quot;productTypes&quot;:[],&quot;barrierTypes&quot;:[],&quot;issuers&quot;:[],&quot;omni&quot;:&quot;\\&quot;CH1447745105\\&quot;&quot;,&quot;strikeLevelRanges&quot;:[],&quot;productCategories&quot;:[],&quot;displayColumns&quot;:[&quot;coupon&quot;,&quot;underlying&quot;,&quot;barrierPercentage&quot;,&quot;currency&quot;,&quot;lastTradingDate&quot;,&quot;tenor&quot;,&quot;bidAsk&quot;,&quot;subscriptionEndDate&quot;,&quot;valor&quot;,&quot;documentLinks&quot;],&quot;partner&quot;:&quot;LEONTEQ&quot;,&quot;sortFields&quot;:[],&quot;productGroups&quot;:[],&quot;conditions&quot;:{&quot;&quot;:true,&quot;-_exists_:snapshot.product.in_subscription&quot;:false,&quot;+snapshot.product.attributes.extended_trading_hours:true&quot;:false,&quot;+snapshot.product.in_subscription:(\\&quot;LEONTEQ\\&quot;)&quot;:false,&quot;+snapshot.product.secondary_market:true&quot;:false},&quot;barrierLevelRanges&quot;:[],&quot;assetClasses&quot;:[],&quot;currencies&quot;:[]}\">\n                <\/SavedSearch>\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<h3>Wide Range of Leverage Products<\/h3>\n<p>Volatility also plays a key role in the segment of leverage products. Traditionally, warrants show a strong relationship between price volatility and the product\u2019s value. While volatility plays virtually no role in mini-futures, its impact on knock-out warrants (turbos) is very limited. Leonteq covers the full spectrum. The Zurich-based fintech currently offers nearly 200 leverage instruments on Sika.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3>Leverage Products on Sika<\/h3>\n    <div>  \n        \n                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            \n            <leverage-saved-search :columns=\"[ 'engine.isin', 'engine.valor', 'Type', 'Direction', 'engine.underlying', 'engine.currency-abbr', 'Strike', 'Leverage', 'Ratio', 'engine.maturity', 'Bid', 'Ask']\" :filter=\"{&quot;leverage&quot;:{&quot;min&quot;:5.3100000000000005,&quot;max&quot;:36.808},&quot;underlyings&quot;:[&quot;67109118&quot;],&quot;productTypes&quot;:[&quot;PT_TURBO&quot;],&quot;conditions&quot;:{&quot;-identification.status:EXPIRED&quot;:true,&quot;+_exists_:price.ask +price.state:(\\&quot;OPEN\\&quot;, \\&quot;CLOSED\\&quot;)&quot;:false,&quot;+_exists_:levels.stopLossLevelAbs&quot;:false,&quot;+priceIndication.extendedTradingHours:true&quot;:false,&quot;+calendar.issueDateTime:[* TO now]&quot;:true}}\" />\n  <\/div>\n    \n<div>\n    <ltq-button color=\"primary\" url=\"https://structuredproducts-ch.leonteq.com/leverage/Wxc?language_id=3\" label=\"Discover more leveraged products!\"><\/ltq-button><\/div>\n<div>      <p>We look forward to answering all of your questions about our products and how they are traded. Please don't hesitate to get in touch! Phone: <a href=\"tel:+41588001111\">058 800 11 11<\/a>, email <a href=\"mailto:info@leonteq.com\">info@leonteq.com<\/a> or <a href=\"/contact\" title=\"Contact\">contact us here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n  <\/div>","url":"underlying-sika26","investmentThemeVerticalImageUrl":"https://structuredproducts-ch.leonteq.com/product-news/sidenav-banner/sika-26_leonteq-structured-products_sidenav+banner.jpg","thumbnailUrl":"https://structuredproducts-ch.leonteq.com/product-news/thumbnail/sika-26_leonteq-structured-products_thumbnail.jpg"}