Earnings Roundup: 3M, Honeywell

Among the earnings projection stories for Friday, April 24, from AP Financial News:

WASHINGTON (AP) — 3M Co.'s quarterly profit dropped 48 percent as the global economic slowdown hurt its sales in everything from health care to office supplies, prompting the company to lower its 2009 outlook again.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Honeywell International Inc.'s quarterly earnings dropped 38 percent as the battered aviation and auto industries pulled back spending on the company's turbo chargers and jet electronics. Honeywell also cut its 2009 profit forecast, saying it underestimated the severity of the downturn.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics, the world's No. 1 maker of computer memory chips and flat screen TVs, said net profit plummeted 72 percent in the first quarter as the global economic slump continued to suppress consumer demand.

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Tool maker Stanley Works Co. said Friday its first-quarter earnings tumbled 43 percent as core sales slid and couldn't be offset by acquisition growth and higher prices.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Arch Coal Inc., one of the biggest U.S. coal producers, said Friday its first-quarter earnings fell more than 60 percent largely because of production cuts, which the company plans to broaden this year. The results fell 3 cents shy of Wall Street's expectations.