By Aishwarya Nair
(Reuters) -Industrial giant 3M Co said on Tuesday it would continue to increase prices as it looks to combat inflationary and supply chain pressures, worsened due to the crisis in Ukraine.
The diversified manufacturer, which makes everything from Post-It notes to industrial sandpaper, said it plans to continue with the ongoing pricing actions and maintain spending discipline to offset the impact arising from macroeconomic headwinds.
"The goal is to offset the extra inflation that we are seeing with extra price," Chief Financial Officer Monish Patolawala said on a call with analysts.
3M's challenges around supply chain constraints, semiconductor shortages and raw materials aggravated following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the company also said COVID-related lockdowns in China, along with the Ukraine crisis, has slowed sales in April.
"The outlook remains uncertain. It's difficult to predict. We see maybe a 1 percentage point kind of headwind as we start Q2, but that can change as we go through the year," Chief Executive Officer Mike Roman said on the call.
Citi analyst Andrew Kaplowitz said the pricing actions would partially offset inflationary challenges.
"We think China-related shutdowns are a watch item that could incrementally pressure growth/margin and that, combined with lingering uncertainty related to economic slowdown as well as litigation uncertainty, could continue to be an overhang," Kaplowitz added.
The Dow Industrial Average component trimmed its full-year profit outlook as demand for its disposable N95 masks slumped.
It now expects full-year profit to be in a range of $9.89 to $10.39 per share, down from its prior expectation of $10.15 to $10.65.
Excluding items, the Saint Paul, Minnesota-based company's adjusted earnings of $2.65 per share beat analysts' estimate of $2.31.
Sales fell marginally to $8.8 billion in the quarter.