At a meeting with institutional investors and analysts today, 3M will
provide an update to its five-year plan and introduce its 2014 outlook.
3M Chairman, President and CEO Inge G. Thulin will discuss the strength
of 3M’s business model, driven by three key strategic levers: active
portfolio management, investing in innovation, and business
transformation. These levers, combined with more aggressive capital
deployment, will drive enhanced value creation.
Thulin will outline 3M’s 2013-17 financial objectives:
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9 to 11 percent growth in earnings per share
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4 to 6 percent organic revenue growth
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Approximately 20 percent return on invested capital
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Approximately 100 percent free cash flow conversion
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer David Meline will
describe how 3M is managing toward an enhanced capital structure
strategy and increased capital deployment. 3M expects to further
leverage its balance sheet to both grow the company and to increase
returns to shareholders.
The company will continue to invest in capital expenditures and research
and development to support organic growth, which remains paramount to
the 3M model. To augment organic growth, 3M plans to invest between $5
billion and $10 billion for acquisitions through 2017. Acquisition
investments could exceed this range given the right strategic
opportunity, with multi-billion dollar transactions possible.
3M also announced that its board of directors has declared a dividend
increase of 35 percent for the first quarter of 2014. Next year marks 56
consecutive years of annual increases, and 3M has paid dividends without
interruption for 97 years. In addition, the company expects to spend $17
billion to $22 billion on gross share repurchases for 2013-17 versus a
previously expected range of $7.5 billion to $15 billion.
“The strength and diversity of our business model supports more
aggressive capital deployment and reflects our confidence in 3M’s
future,” Thulin said. “We are building the company for long-term success
and are committed to creating sustainable value for our shareholders.”
For 2014, 3M anticipates earnings to be in the range of $7.30 to $7.55
per share with organic local currency sales growth of 3 to 6 percent.
The company expects that free cash flow conversion will be in the range
of 90 to 100 percent.
As previously announced on December 11, 2013, today’s meeting will be
webcast live beginning at 1 p.m. EST and is scheduled to adjourn at 5
p.m. EST. Investors can access this meeting via the following:
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains
forward-looking information about 3M's financial results and estimates
and business prospects that involve substantial risks and uncertainties.
You can identify these statements by the use of words such as
"anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan,"
"believe," "will," "target," "forecast" and other words and terms of
similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or
financial performance or business plans or prospects. Among the factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following:
(1) worldwide economic and capital markets conditions and other factors
beyond the Company's control, including natural and other disasters
affecting the operations of the Company or its customers and suppliers;
(2) the Company's credit ratings and its cost of capital; (3)
competitive conditions and customer preferences; (4) foreign currency
exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; (5) the timing and
market acceptance of new product offerings; (6) the availability and
cost of purchased components, compounds, raw materials and energy
(including oil and natural gas and their derivatives) due to shortages,
increased demand or supply interruptions (including those caused by
natural and other disasters and other events); (7) the impact of
acquisitions, strategic alliances, divestitures, and other unusual
events resulting from portfolio management actions and other evolving
business strategies, and possible organizational restructuring; (8)
generating fewer productivity improvements than estimated; (9)
unanticipated problems or delays with the phased implementation of a
global enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or security breaches
and other disruptions to the Company's information technology
infrastructure; and (10) legal proceedings, including significant
developments that could occur in the legal and regulatory proceedings
described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2012 and its subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q (the
“Reports”). Changes in such assumptions or factors could produce
significantly different results. A further description of these factors
is located in the Reports under "Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That
May Affect Future Results" and "Risk Factors" in Part I, Items 1 and 1A
(Annual Report) and in Part I, Item 2 and Part II, Item 1A (Quarterly
Report). The information contained in this news release is as of the
date indicated. The Company assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements contained in this news release as a result of
new information or future events or developments.
About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms
them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative
collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies
that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops
inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 88,000 people worldwide
and has operations in more than 70 countries. For more information,
visit www.3M.com
or follow @3MNews
on Twitter.
Copyright Business Wire 2013