3M Co reported higher-than-expected quarterly results on Tuesday, lifted by strong sales to the electronics industry.

The diversified manufacturer, which makes a variety of office, medical and industrial products, posted a fourth-quarter profit of $928 million, or $1.28 a share, compared with $935 million, or $1.30 a share, a year earlier.

Sales rose 9.6 percent to $6.7 billion.

Analysts, on average, had expected St. Paul, Minnesota-based 3M to report a profit of $1.27 a share on sales of $6.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company raised its forecast for 2011 earnings to a range of $5.95 to $6.20 a share, up from a previous forecast of $5.90 to $6.10.

3M posted double-digit percentage sales increases in several businesses, including a 20.3 percent jump in sales of products to the electronics industry and a 10.4 percent rise in sales of products to the automotive and aerospace industries.

The company, whose sales of healthcare products like respirators and surgical masks jumped last year as a result of the H1N1 scare, said those sales were up just 5.9 percent during the fourth quarter, lifted largely by a recent acquisition.

3M shares fell 1.2 percent to $89.25 in premarket trade.

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and John Wallace)