3M Co. reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit on Tuesday, as demand for its home improvement and personal safety products helped offset lower sales in the transportation and electronics unit, which is suffering from supply chain snarls.
Shares of the diversified manufacturer rose 2 percent before the bell.
The company, the biggest maker of N95 face masks in the United States, said the highly infectious Omicron variant of COVID-19 was driving an increase in near-term demand for its disposable respirators.
3M also benefited from people confining themselves to home and ordering more bandages and cleaning products, as the Omicron variant rages through the United States.
However, the Saint Paul, Minnesota-based company’s two biggest units, transportation & electronics, and safety & industrial, saw a 1.5 percent and 2.2 percent decline in sales.
Net income attributable to 3M fell to $1.34 billion, or $2.31 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $1.41 billion, or $2.41 per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of $2.02 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
Net sales edged 0.3 percent higher to $8.61 billion, beating estimates of $8.55 billion.
