(This Nov 10 story has been corrected to say 3M announced plans to spin off its healthcare business in July 2022, not already spun it off, in paragraph 9)
BENGALURU (Reuters) – ‘Post-it’ notes maker 3M India reported a near 38% jump in its second-quarter profit on Friday, helped by sustained demand for its products.
Consolidated profit after tax came in at 1.46 billion rupees ($17.51 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with 1.06 billion rupees a year earlier, the Indian arm of U.S.-based diversified manufacturer 3M Co said in a filing.
The Bengaluru-based company makes a host of products including ‘Scotch’ tape, ‘Post-it’ notes, power tools, and bandages.
It reported a more than 6% rise in revenue from operations to 10.4 billion rupees, helped by a near 5% growth in the transportation and electronics segment.
A revival in automotive production and increasing focus on localised production of mobile phones has helped buoy demand for the company’s transportation and electronics products, analysts have said.
Its safety and industrial segment – which counts face shields and construction hats in its lineup – grew more than 3%.
Shares of 3M India, which have risen nearly 44% so far this year, were up as much as 2.15% post results before closing 0.6% lower.
On Friday, the company approved terms of arrangement with four U.S. entities for licensed manufacturing, reselling and distributorship of its healthcare business in India and Nepal.
This comes after parent 3M Co announced plans to spin off its healthcare business in July 2022, while proposing to maintain the segment’s manufacturing and distribution operations in India through the local unit.
The agreements have an initial term of five years and will become effective upon the spin-off’s completion, expected during the first half of 2024.
($1 = 83.3719 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)