3M
(NYSE: MMM)
stock was down this morning after the company’s 2024 earnings forecast failed to meet expectations.
The Maplewood, Minnesota–based manufacturing giant also said it remains on track to spin off 3M Health Care as a new company called Solventum during the year’s first half.
“The spin is on track to be completed in the first half of this year, and we are confident in the value it will create for customers, care providers, patients and shareholders,” 3M CEO Mike Roman said during the company’s earnings call with analysts.
Including its healthcare business, 3M expects adjusted EPS of $9.35–9.75 this year; the Wall Street analyst consensus was $9.81. 3M expects adjusted total sales growth in the range of 0.25–2.25%, reflecting adjusted organic sales growth of flat to up to 2%.
MMM shares were down more than 11% to $97.75 apiece by the afternoon today. MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index was down slightly.
“Our team remains focused on further improving our operational performance, optimizing our portfolio, and reducing risk,” Roman said in the company’s news release.
3M earned $945 million, or $1.70 per share, from $8 billion in sales during the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2023. The bottom line was up nearly 75%, and the top line was down slightly compared to the same quarter a year before.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, 3M’s EPS was $2.42. The result was 11¢ ahead of The Street, where analysts expected EPS of $2.31 on sales of $7.7 billion.
Said Roman: “Throughout 2023, we executed our priorities and delivered on our commitments – including expanding underlying operating margins and cash flow. We initiated actions to restructure our organization and simplify our supply chain, while progressing our Health Care spin and addressing legal matters.”
Transportation & Electronics was the only 3M business with year-over-year organic sales growth in Q4. Health Care was down 1%. The soon-to-be Solventum saw organic growth in medical solutions, while separation and purification, oral care and health information systems declined. There was talk during today’s earnings call of lingering COVID-related impacts for the healthcare business.
Roman boasted of recent wins during the earnings call. They included a $34.2 million U.S. Army contract to develop wound care innovations with the military and research universities.
Said Roman: “We stayed relentlessly focused on doing what 3M does best, using material science to make a difference in the world. I see exciting examples of innovation across our company.”
