3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) reported Tuesday that its first-quarter profit climbed to $1.08 billion, or $1.49 a share, from $930 million, or $1.29 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue climbed to $7.31 billion from $6.35 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of $1.42 a share on revenue of $6.84 billion.
"We are off to a tremendous start in 2011 with first-quarter organic sales growth of 9 percent -- or 10.5 percent adjusting for Japan and H1N1 impacts," said George W. Buckley, 3M chairman, president and chief executive officer. "New product flow is accelerating, boosted by higher investment in laboratory, sales and marketing and manufacturing capacity. Sales are growing faster as a result and our businesses are growing most everywhere in the world." The company noted that its new product vitality index, which measures the percent of sales attributed to new products, is projected to rise again in 2011, on top of a record 31 percent in 2010.
Shares of the company rose more than 2% in Tuesday's pre-market trading.
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