The 3M Company reported a higher quarterly profit on Thursday, lifted by strong sales to the consumer electronics industry. But it reduced the top end of its full-year forecast and said rising raw materials costs and other pressures were cutting into margins, sending the company’s shares sharply lower.
3M, a diversified manufacturer that also makes a variety of medical products, also posted slower organic sales growth than in previous quarters. Last flu season, 3M had a surge in sales of surgical masks, but it did not expect to have the sales it enjoyed last year because of the H1N1 virus scare.
