3M, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, and operating in the promotional products industry as supplier 3M Promotional Markets (PPAI 113638), reports record sales and earnings per share in the third quarter. The company’s $8.2 billion in quarterly sales represent a six percent year-on-year increase, while earnings of $2.33 per share are up 8.4 percent versus the same quarter last year.

The company reported operating income for the third quarter of $2 billion, and an operating income margin of 25 percent—a 0.3 percentage point increase year on year. Third-quarter net income was $1.4 billion, up 7.5 percent.

“Coming off a strong first half, our team delivered an even more robust performance in the third quarter—marked by an eight percent increase in earnings per share, and seven percent organic growth that was positive across all business groups and geographic areas,” says Inge G. Thulin, 3M’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We also expanded margins to 25 percent, while investing for the future and returning significant cash to our shareholders.”

3M’s total sales grew 13.1 percent in Electronics and Energy, 7.7 percent in Health Care, 6.2 percent in Industrial, 2.2 percent in Consumer, and 1.9 percent in Safety and Graphics. On a geographic basis, total sales grew 10.8 percent in Asia Pacific, 7.4 percent in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), 5.6 percent in Latin America/Canada, and two percent in the U.S.

In light of its strong performance over the first nine months of the year, 3M has updated its guidance for 2017. It now expects organic local-currency sales growth of four to five percent, up from the previous forecast of three to five percent. The company also upped its earnings expectations from $9.00 to $9.10 per share—up 10 to 12 percent year on year—versus a prior expectation of $8.80 to $9.05.