(Reuters) – 3M spin-off Solventum forecast annual profit above analyst estimates on Thursday, betting on strong sales of its wound care and surgical sterilization products.
Minnesota-based Solventum is one of the largest providers of sterilization devices, wound dressings, medical tape and other hospital consumables used by healthcare facilities.
More than half of its revenue comes from its MedSurg business, which provides wound dressings and surgical equipment. Sales in the segment were $1.17 billion during the quarter.
The company’s performance has come under scrutiny from activist investor Nelson Peltz.
Peltz’s Trian Fund Management said in a letter to shareholders in January the company should simplify its segments to improve execution at its core medical surgery business.
Trian, which owns around 5% of Solventum’s shares and is the largest active shareholder, also said divestitures could accelerate the company’s ability to reduce debt.
Contract drug manufacturer Thermo Fisher Scientific said earlier this week it will buy Solventum’s purification and filtration business for about $4.1 billion.
Peltz’s hedge fund plans to push Solventum towards further business separations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The company forecast 2025 adjusted profit to be in the range of $5.45 to $5.65 per share, the midpoint of which is above analysts’ average estimate of $5.49 as per data compiled by LSEG.
The forecast includes its purification and filtration segment, the company said.
Solventum reported total sales for the quarter ended December 31 of $2.07 billion, a 1.9% rise from a year earlier.
Solventum’s organic sales growth was primarily driven by the MedSurg and dental solutions segments, it said.
The company’s net income fell to $30 million, or 17 cents per share, in the quarter, from $272 million, or $1.57 per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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