3M profit beats estimates on healthcare product boost

US industrial conglomerate 3M Co topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Tuesday, as the maker of N95 masks benefited from robust demand for its healthcare products during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There has been a recovery from last quarter when the company suffered a plunge in sales, as demand for office supplies declined with more people working from home due to the pandemic.

The company said the third quarter benefited from strong demand for personal safety and home improvement products.

Sales in its healthcare unit, which also makes surgical supplies and dental products, jumped 25.5%, and accounted for more than a quarter of the company's total sales.

However, the company said end markets for healthcare and oral care elective procedures continued to post year-on-year declines, mainly hit by the pandemic.

Sales at 3M's transportation and electronics division, which also sells auto parts, fell 7.4%.

Net income attributable to 3M fell to $1.41 billion, or $2.43 per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $1.58 billion, or $2.72 per share, a year earlier.

Net sales rose 4.5% to $8.35 billion.

Analysts on average had expected quarterly earnings of $2.26 per share on revenue of $8.32 billion, according to Refinitiv data.