St. Paul, MN, Feb. 25--3M Co. expects acquisitions to account for up to 25% of new sales growth, though executives so far have reviewed and turned down hundreds of potential deals, the company's chief financial officer said Wednesday.
Patrick D. Campbell made the comments during a far-reaching, hour-long presentation to investors and others as part of a Morgan Stanley conference in New York.
Campbell didn't provide a time frame for the growth, but said he and 3M Chief Executive W. James McNerney meet nearly every Monday to discuss and evaluate a " good flow" of prospective deals coming through the company's stringent filters.
"We do think we have to supplement our businesses with an acquisition or two," Campbell said.
The remaining sales gains will come through internal growth initiatives, he said.
3M has completed two smaller-scale acquisitions this year, though analysts suggest that the company may be in the hunt for a larger deal. More than a year ago, 3M bought Corning’s Precision Lens unit, the largest maker of lens systems for rear-projection televisions.
Campbell said that two new classes of so-called "immune response modifier" drugs for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma and actinic keratosis were proceeding as planned through reviews by the Food and Drug Administration. The two drugs, which the company expects will eventually generate $600 million in sales, are on track for approval during the second half of the year and could begin to show up in the year's results, he said.
Separately, Campbell said 3M has been experiencing supply constraints in two business areas: optical films and respirator masks. The company is working through bottlenecks in both areas and working to expand capacity.
