(New York) The American group 3M, which had begun to sell many more respiratory protection masks since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, warned on Monday that sales of this product would slow down sharply this year.
Posted at 3:41 p.m.
He thus echoes other companies which have warned in recent weeks that certain activities linked specifically to COVID-19 will slow down, from the Pfizer laboratory to the CVS pharmacy chain.
The 3M conglomerate normally sells a whole range of products ranging from Post-its to air filters, including construction masks.
Shortly after the start of the pandemic in 2020, the group had used its expertise in the field to sharply accelerate its production of masks.
On Monday, however, 3M said it expected a “downturn in demand” for masks used against COVID-19 in 2022, which should weigh 2 percentage points on its organic growth and also affect its earnings per share. .
Another American group manufacturing masks, Honeywell had noticed in early February that it had already sold fewer in the fourth quarter of 2021 than in the same period of 2020.
And he expects a continued decline this year: Honeywell anticipates organic growth of 4 to 7% for 2022, or 5 to 8% without the impact of the drop in sales of masks.
The Pfizer laboratory, which sold $36.8 billion worth of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, warned last week that sales may slow down in 2022: it currently plans to sell $32 billion this year.
The pharmaceutical group expects, on the other hand, to see sales of its pill intended to treat the virus jump to at least 22 billion dollars.
The American pharmacy chain CVS carried out 32 million COVID-19 tests and administered more than 59 million coronavirus vaccines in 2021.
But the number of vaccines administered at its facilities is expected to decline this year by 70-80% and the number of tests by 40-50%, CFO Shawn Guertin warned in a conference call with analysts on February 9. .
The group also foresees a “modest” growth in sales of COVID-19 tests to be done at home.