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St. Paul, Minn. (AP)

Strong Asia sales boost 3M's weaker third quarter

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3M Co., which makes everything from Post-It Notes to insect repellent, said Thursday strong sales of health care products in flu-wary Asia helped lift earnings beyond analyst expectations in the third quarter.

As a result, the St. Paul, Minn.-based conglomerate and Dow Jones component raised its full-year outlook for the second time in as many quarters.

Net income for the three months ended in September slid to $957 million, or $1.35 per share, from $991 million, or $1.41 per share, in the year-earlier period.

Excluding one-time items, 3M earned $1.37 per share, well above the $1.17 most analysts were expecting.

Revenue slipped 5.6 percent to $6.19 billion from $6.56 billion but still topped Wall Street's forecast of $5.77 billion.

The company raised its 2009 earnings-per-share forecast to a range of $4.50 to $4.55, from a July estimate of $4.10 to $4.30 per share. That previous estimate was in turn increased from an April estimate of $3.90 to $4.30 per share.

Analysts project earnings per share of $4.25 for the year.

Asian revenue surged 3 percent while U.S. revenue plunged 8.3 percent. In Europe, 3M's revenue tumbled 9.3 percent.

Sales of optical systems used in flat-panel TVs surged 26 percent to $864 million, and revenue from health care products like face masks jumped 4.7 percent to $1.1 billion.

Those increases were more than offset by declines in sales to appliance manufacturers and car makers, sales of consumer and office products, security and protection services and electronic and communications components.

Free cash flow nearly doubled to $1.6 billion.

In premarket trading, shares of 3M added $1.67, or 2.2 percent, to $78.