Third-quarter earnings up at 3M

St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M had record third-quarter sales and earnings, with earnings growth of 7.4 percent to $960 million compared with $894 million in the same period last year.

The company had net sales of $6.2 billion, up 5.8 percent from $5.86 billion last year.

George Buckley, 3M’s president, chairman and CEO, said the company saw gains across all its business segments. In consumer and office products, 3M saw sales grow 5.9 percent to $898 million compared with $848 million in the same period last year. The company’s safety and security products business saw sales rise 10.9 percent to $766 million from $691 million last year.

“The strength of the 3M portfolio was evident in the third quarter as we again generated record sales,” Buckley said. “Geographic diversity was also an important factor. We continue to accelerate investment in research and development, sales and marketing and in simplification of our supply chains.”

3M has business offices globally, with operations in other industries including industrial and transportation; health care; display and graphics; and electronics and communications.