Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing announced that its...

Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing announced that its third-quarter profit fell 13% to $173 million from $198 million in 1984 and blamed it on weak electronics markets. Sales rose slightly to $2.02 billion from $1.99 billion. The company said it expected softness in the electronics industry and portions of its magnetic media markets to continue in the fourth quarter so that 1985 results “will not be enough to bring full-year earnings to 1984’s record level.” For all of 1984, 3M earned $733 million. The company also said its quarterly results were hurt by effects of the strong U.S. dollar, which made U.S. goods expensive for foreigners. It estimated that earnings during the quarter were reduced by about $12 million because of the strong dollar in the latest period.