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3M posts strong 4Q
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January 26, 2000: 12:21 p.m. ET
Post-It, Scotch tape maker breezes past Street forecasts; stock price gains
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Post-It memo pad and Scotch tape manufacturer Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. Wednesday taped up stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, aided by strong sales of its products in the Far East.
Shares of the St. Paul, Minn.-based company jumped on the news, surging 5-1/4, or almost 6 percent, to 96-5/8. The consumer products maker's projection of a 10 percent improvement in its 2000 earnings also helped spur interest in the company's shares. 3M is one of 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
3M (MMM) said its earnings rose 28 percent to $444 million, or $1.10 a diluted share, from $348 million, or 86 cents, a year earlier. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.02 a share on average, according to analysis firm First Call Corp.
Sales rose 6 percent to $4.02 billion. That gain came despite a 1 percent drop in average prices of its products in the United States, and a drop in overseas pricing due to exchange rate fluctuations.
Rebounding sales in its Asia-Pacific markets were key to the company's positive earnings report, according to 3M Chairman L.D. DeSimone. "Our people did an expert job navigating through difficult challenges in Asia during 1998, and we emerged in 1999 with even stronger customer relationships and competitive positions," DeSimone said.
He also predicted that per-share earnings would grow by 10 percent or more in 2000. "Our focus on growth, productivity and competitiveness, together with continued expansion of the global economy, will drive results," he said.
For 90 years, 3M has been making a variety of consumer products - from its Three-M-Lite abrasive cloth and WetorDry sandpaper made in the early 1900s to new forms of chemicals and plastics that have brought new and more durable textiles to both fashion and home furnishings. The company also makes blank videocassettes, blank music tapes and computer diskettes, among other products.
For the full year, 3M reported a 12 percent increase in net income to $1.71 billion, or $4.21 a share. Revenue grew 4 percent to $15.66 billion. 
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3M
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