Diversified manufacturer 3M Co reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter sales and said it lowered its full-year forecasts for revenue and earnings due to sluggish global growth. Quarterly sales inched up less than 1 percent in regions such as Asia Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, even as they climbed 4.1 percent in the United States. The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company derives more than 60 percent of its sales from outside the United States. 3M, which makes Post-it notes as well as adhesives, abrasives and other products for a variety of industries, now projects sales to grow 2.5 percent to 4 percent this year, excluding the effect of currency changes. Previously, it projected growth of 3 percent to 6 percent growth on that basis. 3M projects full-year earnings in a range of $7.80 to $8 per share, scaling back the top end from $8.10. 3M had also lowered its 2015 earnings outlook in April. "We are amending our growth outlook slightly to account for lower-than-expected global economic growth,” 3M Chief Executive Inge Thulin said in a statement. 3M shares fell 1.6 percent in premarket trading. The company said second-quarter net profit rose to $1.3 billion, or $2.02 per share, from $1.27 billion, or $1.91 per share, a year ago. Analysts expected it to earn $2 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Sales fell 5.5 percent to $7.69 billion, hurt by currency swings, below the $7.83 billion projected by analysts. Excluding currency effects, 3M's quarterly sales increased 1.8 percent, well below the expectations of several analysts. "The real issue for today is the much weaker-than-expected core sales growth," Morgan Stanley analyst Nigel Coe said in a research note. The company last month struck a deal to boost its presence in worker protection gear by buying Capital Safety from private equity firm KKR & Co  for $1.8 billion, 3M's largest-ever purchase.