ZURICH, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Sika said on Friday it expects market conditions to remain "challenging" in 2024 as the Swiss construction chemicals maker posted full-year profit in line with forecasts.

The company, whose additives are used to waterproof and strengthen roofs, floors and walls, said 2023 had seen subdued business activity in Germany while rising inflation and higher interest rates had weighed on construction in the Americas.

An increasing shortage of specialised labour had also slowed building work, Sika noted. Still, the company pointed to major construction and infrastructure projects which are expected to commence as reasons for optimism.

"We are currently expecting market conditions to remain challenging in 2024, while we see good momentum in major construction and infrastructure projects that are either at the planning stage or about to be implemented in all regions," said Chief Executive Thomas Hasler.

The fortunes of Sika, which is a big supplier for the construction and automotive industry, can be seen as a proxy for the health of the two sectors.

The company said it expected its local currency sales to rise by 6-9% in 2024 and to increase its core operating profit at a higher rate, in line with goals outlined last October.

In 2023 Sika increased its sales by 14.5% in local currencies, boosted by the acquisition of MBCC, the former BASF construction chemicals business, which Sika consolidated into its results from May.

Sika reported a full-year operating profit of 1.55 billion Swiss francs ($1.76 billion), matching analyst forecasts.

Its net profit of 1.06 billion francs narrowly beat analyst forecasts for 1.04 billion, while core operating profit of 2.04 billion francs was in line with forecasts.

Its shares were indicated to open 0.7% lower in pre-market activity.

Sika, which supplies adhesives to the automotive industry, said it was seeing robust demand, particularly for electric vehicles, and had received a record level of new orders in 2023. (Reporting by John Revill; editing by Jason Neely)