MMM 3M Company

By Dave Sebastian 

3M Co. said its sales rose for the September quarter as it gained from personal-safety and home-improvement products, though profit fell as expenses grew and demand for products serving industries affected by the Covid-19 pandemic continued to decline.

The Saint Paul, Minn., manufacturer on Tuesday said its sales rose 4.5% to $8.35 billion for the third quarter. The company had expected sales of $8.2 billion to $8.3 billion, and analysts polled by FactSet had expected $8.31 billion. Comparable local-currency sales rose 0.9%.

The company posted a profit of $1.41 billion, or $2.43 a share, compared with $1.58 billion, or $2.72 a share, in the same period last year. Excluding items, earnings were also $2.43 a share, topping analysts' expectations.

At the company's safety and industrial business, which include personal-safety products, sales grew 6.9% to $3 billion. Comparable local-currency sales rose for personal safety, roofing granules and automotive aftermarket products but declined for industrial adhesives and other products.

Consumer-product sales, which include home improvement, grew 5.6% to $1.4 billion as customers continued to concentrate their activities at home during the pandemic. Within the segment, stationery and office-supplies sales fell on a comparable local-currency basis.

Health-care sales, which include medical and surgical supplies, grew 26% to $2.2 billion. Transportation and electronics products fell 7.4% to $2.3 billion, with automotive and aerospace products among those leading the decline.

Operating expenses grew to $6.44 billion from $5.98 billion.

The company sees October sales to be flat to up low-single digits from the same month last year. It didn't provide other financial outlook due to Covid-19 uncertainty but said it would continue to report monthly sales for the current quarter.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 27, 2020 07:46 ET (11:46 GMT)

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