3M CEO: EPS to grow roughly 10 percent a year for next five years

Diversified U.S. manufacturer 3M Co aims to grow earnings per share at a 9 percent to 11 percent average annual rate from 2013 through 2017, Chief Executive Inge Thulin told investors on Thursday.

The maker of products ranging from Post-It notes to films used in electronics expects organic revenue - a measure that excludes the effects of acquisitions, divestitures and currency fluctuations - to grow by 4 percent to 6 percent over the next five years.

To hit its growth targets, 3M plans both to make acquisitions and to sell or repair weaker-performing parts of the company, Thulin said. He noted that 3M has identified operations that generate about $2.5 billion in annual revenue - roughly 8 percent of the corporate total - that are neither financially nor strategically attractive.

"They will not stay in that position," Thulin told an investor meeting that was monitored over the Internet. "You will see much more active portfolio management from us as a team as we move ahead."

Thulin declined to identify the unattractive businesses.

The company expects to generate 40 to 45 percent of its sales in developing markets, including Latin America and China, by 2017, up from 35 percent at present.

3M shares were down 16 cents, or less than 1 percent, at $89.22 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting By Scott Malone; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)