St. Paul, MN-based 3M Co., parent company of Top 40 supplier 3M/Promotional Markets (asi/91240), has announced its sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 ended December 31 were $8 billion, up 9% from a year ago, while sales for 2017 reached $31.7 billion, up 5.1% from 2016. 

Operating income was $1.8 billion in Q4 and $7.8 billion for 2017. Operating income margins for the quarter were 22.8%, and 24.7% for the year, up 70 basis points compared to 2016. Fourth-quarter GAAP earnings were $0.85 per share, a year-over-year decrease of 55% over the same quarter last year. GAAP earnings for the year were $7.93, a decrease of 2.8%.

“3M’s fourth quarter was marked by record sales, expanded margins and robust organic growth across all business groups and geographic areas,” said Inge G. Thulin, 3M chairman, president and CEO. “Our team’s performance capped a successful year for our enterprise. For 2017, we posted organic growth of 5%, along with healthy earnings, cash flow and return on invested capital. Over the last several years, we have accelerated investments in the business – including stepping up research and development and our commercialization efforts – which is evident in our strong results.”

3M said its organic local-currency sales increased 6% in Q4 and 5.2% for the year, while divestitures bumped up sales by 0.3% in the quarter. The impact of foreign currency translation boosted sales by 2.7% versus the last quarter of 2016, and by 0.5% for the year compared to 2016.

3M now forecasts 2018 earnings to be in the range of $10.20 to $10.70 per share versus the prior expectation of $9.60 to $10.00. The company affirmed its organic local-currency sales growth expectations of 3% to 5% and free cash flow conversion of 90% to 100%. 3M/Promotional Markets is ranked 18th on Counselor’s list of top 40 suppliers, with estimated 2016 revenue of $96 million.