UPDATE: 3M Q4 Earnings Beat Views

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) reported higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter and reaffirmed its forecast for fiscal 2015. The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company reported quarterly net income of $1.18 billion, or $1.81 per share, versus $1.1 billion, or $1.62 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Its revenue rose 2% to $7.72 billion, while organic local-currency sales climbed 6.3%. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.80 per share on revenue of $7.77 billion.Industrial sales rose 1.4% to $2.6 billion in U.S. dollars, while Health Care sales gained 2.4% to $1.4 billion. Electronics and Energy sales rose 3.3% to $1.4 billion, while Safety and Graphic sales climbed 3.4% to $1.4 billion in the quarter. Consumer sales rose 2.2% to $1.1 billion in the quarter.During the quarter, the company paid $544 million in cash dividends to shareholders and repurchased $1.3 billion of its own shares.“3M delivered strong results in the fourth quarter, which culminated a solid 2014 performance,” said Inge G. Thulin, 3M's chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Organic growth was positive across all business groups and geographic areas, and operating margins rose by nearly a full point. We once again generated substantial free cash flow, which allowed for continued investment in our businesses and significant return of cash to our shareholders.”For fiscal 2015, the company continues to project earnings of $8.00 to $8.30 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $8.21 per share.3M shares fell 1.52% to $161.75 in pre-market trading.