BENGALURU (Reuters) – 3M India reported a 24% rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday, aided by robust demand in its transportation and electronics segment.
Consolidated profit after tax rose to 1.36 billion rupees ($16.4 million) in the quarter ended March 31 from 1.11 billion rupees a year earlier.
3M India, which makes everything from ‘Scotch’ tape and ‘Post-it’ notes to power tools and medical products, has been raising prices to offset the hit from surging commodity costs.
Consolidated revenue from operations for the Indian arm of the U.S.-based 3M Co rose 13% to 10.46 billion rupees, outpacing an 11.3% growth in total expenses to 8.72 billion rupees.
Revenue from its transportation and electronics business, which makes power tools and cables, grew nearly 27% to 4.35 billion rupees, while profit more than doubled.
The segment is the biggest contributor to the company’s revenue and profit, accounting for about 42% of overall revenue this quarter.
3M India said it has approved discussions and negotiations related to the manufacturing and distributorship of healthcare products with its U.S.-based sister firm 3M Health Care.
The Bangalore-based company’s healthcare segment saw strong revenue growth of 17.2% during the March quarter, while revenue for its safety and industrial business grew 2.7%.
3M India’s shares hit a 15-month high after the results, rising as much as 3.5%. Shares have risen about 11% so far this year, following a 10.3% decline in 2022.
($1 = 82.7426 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Biplob Kumar Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
