3M Co (NYSE: MMM) stock rose over 1.8% on Jan 27th, 2021 (as of 9:36 am GMT-5 ; Source: Google finance) after the company posted better-than-forecast sales and earnings for the fourth quarter of 2020, driven by continued strength for health care products. The company has reported fourth-quarter net income of $1.38 billion, up from $969 million in the same period a year ago. 3M has experienced strong demand for disposable respirator masks, hand sanitizers and safety glasses amid a surge in coronavirus infections. Its home improvement products ScotchBlue painter tapes and Filtrete room air purifiers also gained traction, as people stayed home during the health crisis. In December, the company said that it would cut about 2,900 jobs globally and scale back on investments in slower-growing markets as part of a restructuring that is expected to lead to pretax savings of up to $250 million. During the fourth quarter, the end-market demand remained strong in personal safety, home improvement, general cleaning, semiconductor, data center and biopharma filtration. At the same time, several other end markets continued to experience year-on-year declines mainly due to COVID-19-related headwinds, including healthcare and oral care elective procedures, consumer electronics, hospitality, office supplies, and healthcare IT.
MMM in the fourth quarter of FY 20 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $2.38, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $2.15. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 5.8 percent to $8.6 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 20, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $8.4 billion. Total sales rose 12.7 percent in Safety and Industrial, 10.6 percent in Consumer, 5.4 percent in Health Care, and 2.3 percent in Transportation and Electronics. Organic local-currency sales increased 11.4 percent in Safety and Industrial, 9.9 percent in Consumer, 6.6 percent in Health Care, and 1.4 percent in Transportation and Electronics. On a geographic basis, total sales rose 7.4 percent in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), 5.8 percent in the Americas, and 5.3 percent in Asia Pacific. Organic local-currency sales rose 7.9 percent in the Americas, 5.6 percent in EMEA, and 1.7 percent in Asia Pacific.
3M now predicts 2021 sales growth to be in the range of 5% to 8% for 2021, or 6.5% at the midpoint, above analysts’ average estimate of a 5.4% increase, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The company forecast full-year earnings per share between $9.20 and $9.70, or $9.45 at the midpoint, below Wall Street’s estimate of $9.52, but above $9.25 reported in 2020.