3M posted a 5.8% increase in second-quarter profit as the industrial-products maker reported higher sales across all business segments it serves.
Revenue growth for the latest period was stronger than Wall Street analysts expected, bolstered by strong demand in electronics-related businesses.
3M (MMM) makes Post-it notes, Scotch tape and has a diverse product portfolio in the health care, safety and security, and manufacturing industries, among others. Under a five-year plan 3M outlined late last year, the company is projecting relatively balanced growth across all businesses, but with much of that growth coming from developing markets.
Growth in the latest period benefited from stronger demand in the Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa regions. Sales in the U.S. rose 4.6%–slightly under the overall sales growth–while they fell 3.1% in Latin America/Canada.
Sales growth was also fairly balanced across 3M’s various business segments. The strongest division in the quarter was electronics and energy, where sales jumped 6.2%. Industrial sales rose 4.9% while health care sales were up 5.9%.
Overall, 3M reported net income of $1.27 billion, or $1.91 a share, up from $1.2 billion, or $1.71 a share, a year ago. Net sales climbed 4.9% to $8.13 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had projected a profit of $1.91 a share on $8.08 billion in revenue.
