3M (NYSE:MMM) shares ticked up before hours this morning on second-quarter results that beat the consensus forecast.
The St. Paul, Minn.-based company posted profits of $1.5 billion, or $2.59 per share, on sales of $9 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2021, for a 16.7% bottom-line gain on sales growth of 24.7%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were also $2.59, 33¢ ahead of Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $8.6 billion.
3M’s healthcare segment reported $2.3 billion in revenues, marking a rise of 24.9% from the second quarter of 2020. Sales in the segment increased in oral care, food safety, medical solutions, separation and purification and health information systems, with growth across all geographic areas.
“3M delivered strong performance in the second quarter, once again posting organic growth across all business groups and geographic areas, along with increased earnings and robust cash flow,” 3M chairman & CEO Mike Roman said in a news release. “In an uncertain economic environment, our team executed well and drove innovation across our businesses, while continuing to build for the future. Looking forward, we remain focused on investing in growth opportunities coming out of the pandemic, improving productivity, advancing sustainability and delivering differentiated value for our customers and shareholders.”
3M said it now expects to log full-year adjusted EPS between $9.70 and $10.10, up from projections of $9.20 to $9.70 previously. The company expects sales growth of between 7% and 10%, an increase from previous estimates ranging between 6% and 9%.
MMM shares were up 0.6% at $202.80 per share before hours today.