© Reuters. The 3M logo is seen at its global headquarters in Maplewood, Minnesota, U.S. on March 4, 2020. The company has been contracted by the U.S. government to produce extra masks in response to the country’s novel coronavirus outbreak. Picture taken March 4, 20
(Reuters) -Industrial giant 3M Co reported a fall in quarterly adjusted profit on Tuesday, driven by waning demand for its disposable N95 masks as COVID-19 recedes.
A fall in COVID-19 cases globally due to high vaccination rates caused demand for masks to diminish, impacting the margins of the biggest U.S. producer of N95 masks.
Also, the war in Ukraine caused the company to face increased costs, with shortage of raw materials and semiconductor straining its auto builds production.
Chief Financial Officer Monish Patolawala had flagged in February that global auto builds in the first quarter were expected to decline about 2% year-on-year and also sequentially.
In February, the Saint Paul, Minnesota-based company had forecast a slower pace of sales growth in 2022 and a 45 cent hit to its per-share earnings due to slowing demand for its masks.
Adjusted earnings per share fell to $2.65 in the first quarter from $2.95 a year earlier.
Sales fell 0.3% to $8.8 billion.
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