3M Company Gains 5% After Reporting Q2 Results, To Spin Off Health Care Biz

Shares of 3M Company (MMM) are gaining nearly 5% on Tuesday morning. The company announced its second-quarter results, and also revealed plans to spin off its Health Care business and said that its Aearo Technologies unit has filed for bankruptcy protection.

MMM is currently trading at $140.02, up $5.90 or 4.40%, on the NYSE. The stock opened its trading at $134.00 after closing Monday’s trading at $134.12. The stock has traded between $125.60 and $202.77 in the past 52-week period.

Aearo Tech’s move to file for bankruptcy protection stems from the large number of claims related to the previous generation Combat Arms Earplugs manufactured by Aearo Technologies, as well as discontinued Aearo Technologies mask and respirator products utilized to reduce workplace exposure to asbestos, silica, coal mine dust or occupational dusts.

About 115,000 filed claims and an additional 120,000 claims on an administrative docket as of June 30, 2022 have prompted the move.

3M also lowered its fiscal 2022 forecast. The company now expects adjusted earnings of $10.30 to $10.80 per share, while previous estimate was between $10.75 and $11.25. Analysts currently expect earnings of $10.60 per share for the year. Sales are now expected to be down 0.5 percent to 2.5 percent from last year. Previously, the company was expecting a growth of 1 percent to 4 percent.

For the second quarter, 3M reported profit of $78 million or $0.14 per share, compared to $1.52 billion or $2.59 per share last year. Adjusted earnings were $1.42 billion or $2.48 per share for the period. Analysts expected earnings of $2.45 per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter fell 2.8% to $8.70 billion from $8.95 billion last year.

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