3M beats Q1 estimates

ST. PAUL, Minn. — 3M’s earnings rose to $1.32 billion, or $2.16 per share, from $1.28 billion ($2.05) in Q1 of last year. Sales increased by 3.7% to $7.7 billion. Analysts on average had expected earnings to remain flat, and sales to amount to about $7.47 billion. The maker of Post-Its raised its outlook for the year to between $8.70 and $9.05 per share, up from $8.45 to $8.80. At the same time, the company announced its pending acquisition of Scott Safety from Johnson Controls.