US INDUSTRIAL conglomerate 3M on Tuesday (Jul 25) raised its full-year profit forecast, benefiting from higher prices and cost-cut measures including significant layoffs.

The company, which makes everything from power tools to medical products, has been raising prices to offset a hit from mounting commodity costs. To counter the surge, 3M also reduced its total global workforce by 10 per cent over two rounds of layoffs.

The maker of ‘Scotch’ tape and ‘Post-it’ note said it now expects its full-year profit to be between US$8.60 and US$9.10 per share, up from its prior guidance of US$8.50 to US$9.00.

“In the second quarter, the actions we took to strengthen our supply chain and restructure the company led to improved service for customers, reduced costs across 3M, and better-than-expected margins and cash flow,” said 3M chairman and chief executive officer Mike Roman.

Shares of the company were up 1.5 per cent at US$105.80 in premarket trading.

But the diversified manufacturer reported a quarterly loss compared to a year-ago profit, as it took a hit from a US$10.3 billion settlement related to water pollution claims tied to “forever chemicals”.

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Last month, the diversified manufacturer agreed to settle with a host of US public water systems to resolve water pollution claims.

The St Paul, Minnesota-based company reported a loss of US$12.35 per share in the second quarter, compared with a profit of 14 cents a year earlier.

The loss includes the settlement amount payable over 13 years, which negatively impacted earnings per share by US$14.19.

Revenue fell 4.3 per cent to US$8.3 billion. REUTERS