3M is going to announce its fourth quarter and annual results on Tuesday, January 27. 3M expect’s strong sales growth to continue into the fourth quarter with growth across all five of its business segments – Industrial, Safety and Graphics, Health Care, Electronics & Energy, and Consumer. 3M’s Industrial segment should benefit from growing demand for purification products and products for automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEM). Drug delivery products and health information systems will likely help drive sales of 3M’s Health Care segment.
In the third quarter, 3M’s revenue grew 3% year-on-year, to reach $8.14 billion. All of 3M’s business segments posted positive organic local currency sales growth in the quarter, in line with the company’s guidance. Organic local currency sales do not include the impact of acquisitions or currency fluctuations. 3M’s sales were primarily driven by its Health Care and Electronics & Energy segments. Its earnings per share increased 11% driven by a 6% increase in net profits and share buybacks of $1.22 billion.
3M narrowed its full year earnings per share guidance to the range of $7.40-7.50, from its earlier range of $7.30-7.55. The company also reiterated its revised guidance for capital expenditures of $1.5-1.6 billion and its intention to spend $5-10 billion on acquisitions through 2017.
Industrial Segment To Grow On Purification Systems, OEM Products
3M’s purification business offers air and water filtration products for residential, commercial and industrial use. The global market for water purification equipment is expected to grow 10% annually through 2018, driven by growing demand from developing countries. [3] 3M’s global presence and large number of water purification products position it to benefit from this growth, leading to an increase in its Industrial segment revenues.
3M offers a number of products that are used for the manufacturing, repair and maintenance of automobiles. Driven by the recovery in the economy, North American light vehicle production has grown from 8.6 million units in 2009 to 15.5 million units in 2013. [4] [5] Production is expected to have grown to 17 million in 2014 driven by an increase in consumer spending and higher average vehicle age. [6] 3M is set to benefit from continued growth in automobile production, which will have a positive impact on sales of its automotive products and help drive overall revenue.
3M expects its industrial segment to grow 3-6% in 2014. We believe this growth will be driven by a continued recovery in the global economy and growth in end markets such as automotive, chemicals, industrials, construction and packaging.
Drug Delivery Products, Information Systems Drive Health Care Segment
3M’ Health Care segments caters to the drug delivery, infection prevention, disposable medical supplies, health care systems, food safety, and dental and orthodontic markets. We expect that growth in drug delivery products and healthcare information systems will help drive the segment’s revenues in the fourth quarter. Drug delivery products are used to deliver drugs to a patient’s body, such as inhalers and injections. The drug delivery market is expected to reach $198 billion in 2017. [7] 3M has a large number of drug delivery products that will enable it to cater to this growing market.
Information technology is used in the healthcare sector for storage, retrieval and transfer of patient medical information through digital means. This helps in increasing efficiency and also leads to considerable financial benefits, which is encouraging hospitals to invest in healthcare IT. A growing complexity of healthcare operations, the shift towards paperless environments, and a proliferation of smart devices are driving the demand for healthcare IT systems. The market for healthcare IT systems is projected to reach $66 billion by 2020. [8] In order to strengthen its position in the healthcare IT market 3M acquired Treo Solution, [9] a healthcare data analytics and business intelligence provider, in April 2014. Sales from Treo Solutions added 0.5% growth to 3M’s Health Care segment in the third quarter.
