Sika AG, the world's second biggest maker of chemicals used in building, said first-quarter sales rose 19 percent, spurred by mild weather and growth in construction in eastern Europe.
Revenue increased to 987 million Swiss francs ($817 million) from 829 million francs a year earlier, the company said today in an e-mailed statement. That beat a 951 million-franc median estimate from four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Sika said March 9 it needs to expand production and may use as much as 850 million francs in cash and credit lines to fund the acquisition of a ``mid-sized'' rival. It's battling the world's biggest chemical company BASF AG for market share in the 13-billion euros building chemicals industry following the German company's purchase of Degussa AG's construction chemicals unit.
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