3M reports 7.4% rise in revenue

Industrial mammoth 3M (MMM) today reported second-quarter results that easily topped analysts expectations. The company reported earnings of $3.07 a share, higher than the consensus estimates of $2.58 a share. Revenue rose 7.4% year-over-year to $8.4 billion, topping analysts expectation of $8.37 billion. During the quarter, the company recorded a benefit of $0.48 per share related to the divestiture of the communication markets business.

Higher sales were driven by the company’s safety and graphics business, which supplies granules for roofing shingles, and personal safety gear. This unit posted a 15.8% growth in sales to $1.8 billion.

The company’s industrial segment reported sales of $3.1 billion, up 6.8%. The healthcare segment witnessed a 4.9% growth in sales. Sales grew 4.6% in Consumer, and 3.6% in Electronics and Energy.

During the quarter, the maker of Scotch tape and Ace bandages paid $802 million in cash dividends to shareholders and repurchased $1.6 billion of its own shares.

“Going forward we will continue to prioritize 3M’s portfolio, strengthen our innovation capabilities and accelerate our transformation, while developing our people. The 3M Playbook is working and we’re just getting started. We are well positioned to deliver even greater value for our customers and shareholders in 2018 and beyond,” said CEO Mike Roman.

For the full year, 3M updated its GAAP earnings expectations to reflect the full-year impact from the communication markets divestiture. The company now expects GAAP EPS in the range of $9.08 to $9.38, compared to the prior-projection of $8.68 to $9.03.

3M now expects adjusted 2018 earnings to be in the range of $10.20 to $10.45 per share versus the prior expectation of $10.20 to $10.55 per share.