3M Profit Up 3.4 Percent, Held Back By LCD Drop

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- 3M says its second-quarter profit rose 3.4 percent as slowing demand for films for LCD televisions dampened strong growth across its other businesses.

3M makes office supplies such as Scotch tape and Post-it notes, as well as coatings for television screens, roofing shingles and other industrial supplies.

It earned $1.16 billion during the quarter, or $1.60 per share. Revenue rose 14 percent to $7.68 billion. That was better than analysts expected.

The Japan earthquake in March hurt sales growth by 2.4 percentage points, and cut 7 cents per share from 3M's profit.

3M Co. has been coping with a slowdown in films that coat the screens of LCD televisions. But sales in that unit dropped 22 percent in the last quarter, faster than 3M had expected.

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