April 24 (Reuters) – 3M Co is eager to make a deeperforay into natural resources and aerospace markets to expandbeyond consumer products like Scotch Tape, sand paper andtouch screen displays, new chief executive Inge Thulin saidTuesday.
The US manufacturer is planning an immediate push into markets that service customers dealing with the gas, oil, mining and water industries by forming a new division called “natural resource management and extraction.
“”We have been in those markets for some time,” Thulin told analysts during a conference call after posting quarterly earnings on Tuesday. “But at least in our mind, and the organization’s mind here in total, we have not given full attention in terms of additional investment in order to accelerate our growth.
“Other companies have been looking to boost business in the natural resources sector. Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), for instance, has in recent years increased profit by diving into the area via acquisitions in the mining sector.”.
PK) focuses on energy and natural resources in Southeast Asia and holds majority interests in subsidiaries engaged in real estate development and M&A consulting services.
The Company cautions investors that any forward looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any natural resources that may be located, variations in the market price of any natural resource products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the Company’s inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, the Company’s inability to produce natural resources from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20 F for the year ended December 31, 2009 and its most recent quarterly reports filed with the United States Securities Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies.
That’s a good opportunity for us to enable lighter, safer, quieter aircraft, constructed faster.
We believe with additional technologies that we can accelerate that even more – meaning more focus and investment will go into that business,” he said.3M has six main operating divisions, such as office supplies or healthcare, and a myriad of subdivisions, such as food safety or optical systems.A spokeswoman for 3M said it will focus on better grouping its natural resources products, such as cement products, pipeline protectants and liquid filtration, to more effectively sell to customers in the natural resources sector. The move should allow the company to provide more managerial focus on underdeveloped businesses without shifting investment out of another sector.3M had done this with its automotive business by bundling products such as window coatings and paint supplies under the same umbrella, Morningstar equities analyst Adam Fleck said. The company now points to automotive as a key growth business.”.
Molly Hulme is a business journalist based in Adelaide, Australia. Molly has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Molly spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.
