Continued growth in a difficult environment

Corporate news announcement processed and transmitted by Hugin AS.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this
announcement.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------

The Sika Group increased sales in 2008 by 7.3% in terms adjusted for
exchange rates. In Swiss francs this yielded a net result of CHF
4.625 billion, 1.1% higher than that of the previous year. Operating
profit before depreciation, EBITDA, amounted to CHF 556.1 million,
and consolidated net profit to CHF 267.4 million. Overall Sika
achieved the second highest result in the company's history.

Despite the effects of the declining construction industry in various
countries felt throughout the Group in the fourth quarter of the
reporting year, growth in the Construction Division, adjusted for
exchange rates, was satisfactory at 9.2%. In the Industry Division on
the contrary, the substantially collapsed production figures in
vehicle construction in the fourth quarter limited sales growth to an
exchange rate-adjusted 0.6%. All Regions contributed to Group growth.
The best results were achieved as in the previous year in the Regions
IMEA (India, Middle East, Africa; +33%) and Latin America (+25%).

Above all three factors influenced the result negatively:

* The shift in currency exchange conditions in some countries such
as Great Britain, Korea, Japan and Australia.
* Enormous, short-term price increases for raw materials in the
third quarter that could only in part be passed on to customers.
* Preparatory efforts in personnel development of management
functions in the Regions in order to be able to better exploit
the growth potential foremost in emerging markets in the future.

Gross profit as a proportion of net sales weakened from 53.3% to
51.7%. Operating profit before depreciation, EBITDA, dropped 12.8%
from CHF 637.8 million to CHF 556.1 million. The EBITDA margin at
12.0% was 1.9 percentage points lower than in the previous year.
Operating profit, EBIT, amounted to CHF 422.0 million and thereby lay
17.4% lower than the CHF 510.8 million of the previous year.

Consolidated net profit before taxes decreased opposite the previous
year by 22.2% to CHF 373.3 million. The income tax rate amounted to
28.4%, thereby falling below the level of the previous year of 28.7%.
Thus remained a consolidated net profit of CHF 267.4 million. The
profit margin amounted to 5.8% (2007: 7.5%).

Outlook

Short-term forecasts in the present environment are very difficult.
Due to the spreading economic crisis Sika reckons with a decline in
demand in many of the markets that are relevant for the company. The
Construction Division feels the cooling demand with some delay, and
on the other hand will also profit later from an economic recovery.
Economic stimulus packages announced in many countries will help in
the infrastructure sector to compensate growth slumps in private
commercial construction. It is nevertheless entirely open when these
effects will be felt.

Sika will employ the current business year to increase the efficiency
of production facilities, the global supply chain and the whole
organization further. Production facilities that are not operating
optimally will be decommissioned and local production capacity
adapted to demand. In accordance with the Group's decentralized
structure the regional companies will develop individual programs in
order to profit from available growth opportunities and - where
necessary - adjust cost structures quickly to respective market
conditions. These programs could also affect jobs. In view of the
corporate structure Sika does not consider comprehensive, worldwide
plans for personnel reduction to be an adequate response.

Overall Sika considers its long-term growth chances intact. The
growth course consistently pursued during the past years will orient
itself during the recessionary phase towards reduced or negative
growth with adapted costs.

Key figures 2008

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| | |in % of| | |in % of|
| | | net| | | net|
|in CHF mn | 2007| sales| | 2008| sales|
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
| | | | | | |
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Consolidated net sales |4573.2| | |4624.5| |
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Operating profit before depreciation | | | | | |
|(EBITDA) | 637.8| 13.9| | 556.1| 12.0|
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Depreciation/Amortization/Impairment |-127.0| -2.8| |-134.1| -2.9|
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Operating profit (EBIT) | 510.8| 11.2| | 422.0| 9.2|
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Net profit after taxes | 342.0| 7.5| | 267.4| 5.8|
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Earnings per share in CHF | 135.4| | | 107.0| |
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Cash flow from operating activities | 362.7| 7.9| | 376.8| 8.1|
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Free cash flow | 182.7| 4.0| | 89.5| 1.9|
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Operating free cash flow | 191.4| 4.2| | 165.8| 3.5|
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Balance sheet total |3317.8| | |3209.4| |
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Shareholders' equity |1474.9| | |1464.7| |
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Equity ratio in % | 44.5| | | 45.6| |
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|ROCE in % | 26.0%| | | 20.3%| |
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Number of employees | 11723| | | 12900| |
|--------------------------------------------+------+-------+-+------+-------|
|Net sales per employee in 1000 CHF | 397| | | 376| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The Annual Report and the presentations held at the media conference
covering business in 2008 may be retrieved at www.sika.com.

(Annual Report:
http://www.sika.com/investors/invest-info-annual-report.htm

Presentations: http://www.sika.com/investors/gen-invest-speeches.htm)

-END-

Sika AG
Zugerstrasse 50
CH-6341 Baar, Switzerland
www.sika.com

Contact: Rainer Weihofen,
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Tel.: +41 58 436 68 00
Fax: +41 58 436 68 50
weihofen.rainer@ch.sika.com

Sika AG - a corporate profile
Sika AG, located in Baar, Switzerland, is a globally active company
supplying the specialty chemicals markets. It is a leader in
processing materials used in sealing, bonding, damping, reinforcing
and protecting load-bearing structures in construction (buildings and
infrastructure construction) and in industry (vehicle, building
component and equipment production).
Sika's product lines feature high-quality concrete admixtures,
specialty mortars, sealants and adhesives, damping and reinforcing
materials, structural strengthening systems, industrial flooring and
membranes. Subsidiaries in more than 70 countries worldwide and
approximately 12,900 employees link customers directly to Sika and
guarantee the success of all of its business relationships. With this
business structure Sika generates annual sales of CHF 4.6 billion.
Visit our website at www.sika.com.

The media release can be downloaded from the following link:

--- End of Message ---

Sika AG
Zugerstrasse 50 Baar

WKN: 858573; ISIN: CH0000587979;
Index: SMCI, SPI, SPIEX, SMIEXP, SMIM;
Listed: Main Market in SIX Swiss Exchange;
Copyright © Hugin AS 2009. All rights reserved.