Trump plans to order millions of masks from 3M to combat coronavirus, and it could fuel a $1 billion sales boost for the company

• The Trump administration plans to order millions of masks from 3M to combat coronavirus.
• The contract could underpin more than $1 billion in coronavirus-related sales for the industrial-products titan.
• 3M raked in about $350 million in revenue from the H1N1 or "swine flu" pandemic in 2009.
• Doubling or tripling that figure during the coronavirus outbreak is "not a crazy stretch," a stock analyst told Business Insider.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Trump administration plans to source millions of masks from 3M to combat the new coronavirus. The order could underpin more than $1 billion in coronavirus-related sales for the inventor of Post-its and Scotch tape.

"We've contracted now with 3M; 35 million more masks per month will be produced, and we're also going to be working with other manufacturers," Vice President Mike Pence said on Saturday.

A 3M spokesperson told the Star Tribune that the company was "not yet under contract for the volume mentioned" by Pence, but it was preparing to respond to the government's request for a proposal for respirators.

Even without the contract, 3M is scrambling to satisfy surging demand for its products as the coronavirus threat grows. The flu-like virus - which causes a disease named COVID-19 - has infected more than 89,000 people, killed at least 3,000, and spread to upward of 60 countries.

In response, 3M is ramping up global production of its respirators and other personal-safety products "as quickly as possible," it said in a press release. It added that it hasn't raised the price of its respirators - although it can't control what others charge for them - and it has donated more than $1 million worth of respirators, surgical masks, and hand sanitizer to China.

Benefiting from coronavirus

Like many of its rivals, 3M might suffer from coronavirus disrupting its operations and tempering demand for its other products. Unlike them, it can partially offset that impact, as it has during past outbreaks. For example, it racked up about $350 million in sales from the H1N1 or "swine flu" pandemic between 2009 and 2010, Chief Financial Officer Pat Campbell said on a 2010 earnings call.

The windfall isn't surprising given that 3M is one of the world's biggest manufacturers of N95 respiratory masks and other products that are helpful during epidemics.

"Our respirators and surgical masks help reduce the spread of infectious diseases," 3M CEO George Buckley said during an outlook meeting in 2009. "Our hand sanitizers, which quickly kill bacteria, are key in preventing infections."

"One of only a handful"

The company's disease-fighting offerings spurred Scott Davis, an equity analyst at Melius Research, to upgrade its stock to a "buy" last week.

"3M is one of only a handful of S&P names that sells a necessary product in virus containment," he said in a research note. "It's one of our few names with a flu/coronavirus hedge."

Moreover, 3M stands to make a lot more money from coronavirus than it did from H1N1.

"We would assume the impact this time around to be well ahead of those historic levels," Davis said in an email to Business Insider. Double or triple its H1N1 gain - or $700 million to $1.05 billion - is "not a crazy stretch," he added.