3M India posts first quarterly loss since June 2020 on labour‑code hit

A logo of 3M at the company’s booth at the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, China, November 6, 2025.REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov · Reuters

Reuters

Thu, 12 February 2026 at 6:24 pm GMT+9 1 min read

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Industrial giant 3M’s Indian arm swung to a quarterly loss for the first time in ‌five-and-a-half years, hit by a one-time charge linked ‌to the country’s new labour codes.

The company, whose products range from Post-it notes ​to power tools, posted on Thursday a loss of 620.6 million rupees ($6.85 million) for the quarter ended December 31, compared to a profit of 1.14 billion rupees a year ago.

The firm ‌had last posted ⁠a loss in the quarter ended June 2020 amid a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.

For the December quarter, ⁠3M India’s revenue in the transportation and electronics segment rose 3.8%, dipping from a year-earlier 10% rise.

3M India’s second-biggest business, the ​safety and ​industrials segment, grew by 20% ​while its healthcare segment ‌posted 13.5% growth.

Total revenue climbed 12.7% to 12.28 billion rupees, outpacing expenses, which rose 10%.

The company booked a charge of about 746 million rupees tied to India’s new labour codes, the country’s biggest overhaul of workers’ laws in decades which ‌have dragged profits of firms across ​sectors.

The Scotch-Brite scrub maker said Managing ​Director–designate Aseem Joshi will ​take over from Ramesh Ramadurai in April 2026.

Last ‌month, parent 3M posted an ​annual profit that ​came in just below Wall Street estimates, citing uneven demand. CEO Bill Brown said its roofing‑granules and automotive‑aftermarket ​units will stay ‌under pressure early in 2026 due to a weak ​macro environment.

($1 = 90.6080 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in ​Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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