3M cuts 2015 forecast, citing sluggish global growth

(Adds details from results, analyst comment)

By Lewis Krauskopf

July 23 (Reuters) - Diversified manufacturer 3M Co reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter sales on Thursday and said it lowered its full-year forecasts for revenue and earnings due to sluggish global growth.

Quarterly sales inched up less than 1 percent in regions such as Asia Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, even as they climbed 4.1 percent in the United States. The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company derives more than 60 percent of its sales from outside the United States.

3M, which makes Post-it notes as well as adhesives, abrasives and other products for a variety of industries, now projects sales to grow 2.5 percent to 4 percent this year, excluding the effect of currency changes. Previously, it projected growth of 3 percent to 6 percent growth on that basis.

3M projects full-year earnings in a range of $7.80 to $8 per share, scaling back the top end from $8.10. 3M had also lowered its 2015 earnings outlook in April.

"We are amending our growth outlook slightly to account for lower-than-expected global economic growth," 3M Chief Executive Inge Thulin said in a statement.

3M shares fell 1.6 percent in premarket trading.

The company said second-quarter net profit rose to $1.3 billion, or $2.02 per share, from $1.27 billion, or $1.91 per share, a year ago.

Analysts expected it to earn $2 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales fell 5.5 percent to $7.69 billion, hurt by currency swings, below the $7.83 billion projected by analysts.

Excluding currency effects, 3M's quarterly sales increased 1.8 percent, well below the expectations of several analysts.

"The real issue for today is the much weaker-than-expected core sales growth," Morgan Stanley analyst Nigel Coe said in a research note.

The company last month struck a deal to boost its presence in worker protection gear by buying Capital Safety from private equity firm KKR & Co for $1.8 billion, 3M's largest-ever purchase.

Through Wednesday, 3M shares had fallen more than 5 percent, compared to a 2.7 percent rise for the S&P 500 index.

(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York; Editing by Franklin Paul and Bernadette Baum)