A strong U.S. dollar is creating currency exchange headwinds for 3M, leading the multinational corporation on Tuesday to lower its forecast for the year.
3M saw a dip in sales during the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, on lower demand for disposable respirators and costs associated with divestitures.
"We continue to position 3M for the future through investments for growth, productivity and sustainability, along with active portfolio management," Mike Roman, chief executive of 3M, said in a statement.
Despite the sales decline, the Maplewood-based company more than doubled its profit from a year ago to $3.86 billion, or $2.69 a share. The adjusted earnings per share beat analyst expectations and excludes special items, like litigation and divestitures costs.
"This quarter we divested our food safety business and began executing the work-streams to successfully spin our health care business, resulting in two world-class, public companies," Roman said.
In July, 3M announced the spinoff of its $8.6 billion health care business, which will leave 3M as a smaller company. In 2021, health care accounted for more than 25% of its $35.4 billion in sales.
Its remaining business segments will be safety and industrial, transportation and electronics and consumer.
The company lowered its full-year outlook to a range between $10.10 to $10.35 a share, down from the previous forecast of between $10.30 to $10.80, reflecting "ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty," Roman said. "The global economic outlook is softening."
