3M (NYSE: MMM), St. Paul, Minnesota, reported third-quarter sales of $8.4 billion, a 4.5% increase compared to the third quarter of 2019. Profit was $1.4 million, a 10.7% decrease compared to the prior year.

Safety and industrial group sales of $3 billion were up 6.9% in U.S. dollars. Organic local-currency sales increased 6.9%.

Transportation and electronics sales of $2.3 billion were down 7.4%. Organic local-currency sales decreased 7.1%.

Health care sales of $2.2 billion were up 25.5%. Organic local-currency sales increased 8.1%.

Consumer sales of $1.4 billion were up 5.6% in U.S. dollars. Organic local-currency sales increased 5.5%.

“Our third-quarter performance demonstrated once again the strength of the 3M model as we executed well, served customers and continued to fight the pandemic,” said Mike Roman, 3M chairman and CEO. “Though economic uncertainty and challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic remain, we returned to positive organic sales growth with sequential improvement across businesses and geographies. We posted another quarter of robust cash flow, aggressively managed costs and further strengthened our balance sheet.”