Diversified technology company 3M Co.'s (MMM) first-quarter net income attributable to the company improved slightly to $1.13 billion, or $1.61 per share, from last year's $1.125 billion, or $1.59 per share. On average, 15 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $1.65 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Sales rose 2.0 percent year-on-year to $7.63 billion, from $7.49 billion, while 11 analysts estimated revenues of $7.81 billion for the quarter. Organic local-currency sales went up 2.1 percent and acquisitions added 1.7 percent to sales, whereas currency impacts reduced sales by 1.8 percent year-over-year.
Looking ahead, 3M now sees 2013 earnings in the range of $6.60 to $6.85 per share versus its previous range of $6.70 to $6.95 per share. The company continues to forecast organic local-currency sales growth of 2 to 5 percent for the year. Foreign currency translation is expected to reduce full-year sales by about 1.5 percent. Earlier, 3M anticipated no impact to 2013 sales from foreign currency translation.
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