due to an increasingly challenging global economy. Local currency sales (which include volume, selling price and acquisition impacts, but exclude divestiture and translation impacts) increased in Safety, Security and Protection Services and in Health Care. Sales in local currencies for the other four business segments dropped during the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter 2008 net income was $536 million, or $0.77 per diluted share, compared to $851 million, or $1.17 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2007. In response to difficult economic conditions, in the fourth-quarter of 2008, 3M took actions which resulted in net pre-tax charges of $219 million for restructuring actions and exit activities, which reduced net income by $140 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, as 3M aggressively balanced its cost structure to a slower growth environment. The fourth quarter of 2007 included net pre-tax charges of $20 million related to restructuring, exit activities and a loss on sale of businesses, which reduced net income by $12 million, or $0.02 per diluted share. Refer to the “Special Items” summary at the end of this overview section for more detail on these items that impacted results.

 

For total year 2008, sales increased 3.3 percent to $25.3 billion, with local-currency sales up 1.4 percent. Operating income margins were 20.6 percent, including restructuring and other items that negatively impacted operating income by $269 million, or 1.1 percentage points. In addition to the fourth quarter items noted in the preceding paragraph, refer to the “Special Items” summary at the end of this overview section for discussion of other items impacting results. In 2008, restructuring and other special items negatively impacted net income by $194 million, or $0.28 per diluted share. In 2007, the largest special item was the gain on sale of businesses, primarily the global branded pharmaceuticals business in Europe, which, combined with other items, benefited 2007 net income by $448 million, or $0.62 per diluted share. Including these special items, 3M reported net income of $3.460 billion, or $4.89 per diluted share for 2008, compared to net income of $4.096 billion, or $5.60 per diluted share, for 2007.

 

In December 2006 and January 2007, 3M completed the sale of its branded pharmaceuticals business, resulting in gains in the fourth quarter of 2006 and first quarter of 2007. In addition, 3M recorded a gain related to the sale of its Opticom Priority Control Systems and Canoga Traffic Detection businesses in the second quarter of 2007. In both 2007 and 2006, these gains on sale of businesses were partially offset by restructuring and the net impact of other special items. Refer to “Special Items” at the end of this overview section for additional details. Including these special items, in 2007, 3M reported net sales of $24.462 billion and net income of $4.096 billion, or $5.60 per diluted share, compared with net sales of $22.923 billion and net income of $3.851 billion, or $5.06 per diluted share, in 2006. Excluding the special items in both years, the Company still achieved strong underlying operating performance, helped by a 6.7 percent increase