Industrial giant 3M on Tuesday reported a 1% decline in first-quarter sales while both operating margin and earnings climbed compared to the same period last year.
The company posted $6 billion in sales but $5.8 billion in adjusted sales — the latter reflecting an 0.8% year-over-year increase with adjusted organic sales growth of 1.5%.
3M maintained its previous projection of adjusted earnings per share of between $7.60 to $7.90 for the full year, but noted “additional tariff sensitivity” that could negatively impact those totals by an estimated $0.20 to $0.40 per share.
"We had strong results in the first quarter with positive organic sales growth, margins ahead of expectations and double-digit EPS growth," Bill Brown, the company’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "In this dynamic environment, we remain focused on improving the fundamentals in the business, building a new performance culture and advancing our strategic priorities.”
The company’s profit numbers reportedly exceeded Wall Street forecasts in the wake of a cost-cutting and restructuring plan announced last year.
