Corning: Q3 Profit up 41%

Glass and optical fiber maker Corning Inc. today announced better-than-expected results for the third quarter of 2007, with profit increases of 41 percent over a year ago driven mostly by demand for LCD television display glass.

The company's third quarter earnings of $617 million represented an increase of 26 percent over the second quarter and were 41 percent higher than the $438 million profit in last year's third quarter.

Sales for the quarter are $1.55 billion, up 21 percent over the same quarter last year. Earnings per share of 38 cents were better than the company’s guidance of 34-37 cents and significantly better than last year, the company said.

"Corning delivered a robust third quarter with excellent performance in our Display Technologies and Telecommunications segments. As we expected, telecommunications sales improved in the quarter," Wendell P. Weeks, chairman and CEO, said.

Display Technologies’ sales increased 16 percent from the second quarter, and were 30 percent higher than the same time last year. Telecommunications sales increased 8 percent from the second quarter due to increased demand for fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) products and private network projects, Corning said.

The Environmental Technologies segment, which makes ceramic substrates and filters for auto emission control systems, was up 4 percent from the second quarter, and 29 percent over a year ago. Sales in the Life Sciences segment, which manufactures optical biosensors for drug discovery, were unchanged from the second quarter but 15 percent higher than a year ago, the company said.

"The overall display market appears healthy heading into the fourth quarter. Retail market indicators continue to point toward a strong consumer holiday buying season for electronic goods such as LCD televisions, laptop computers and flat-screen monitors. We currently see no evidence of credit concerns in the US impacting consumers' purchasing decisions," said James B. Flaws, vice chairman and CFO.

The company said it expects LCD volume at both Corning and Samsung Corning Precision to increase by 2 to 5 percent in the fourth quarter, with market demand pushing Corning's total sales for the year up about 37 percent over 2006.

Flaws said that Corning’s current view for 2008 is that the LCD glass market will expand by at least 400 million square feet, driven primarily by the growth in demand for LCD televisions. This growth is similar to that experienced in both 2006 and 2007. Corning said it expects pricing for its display glass to remain the steady in 2008.

The company said it expects earnings for the fourth quarter to be 36-38 cents per share on sales of approximately $1.55 billion. According to media reports, analysts on Wall Street are disappointed with that news, as they were expecting the company to post a 39-cent-per-share profit on sales of $1.62 billion.

For more information, visit: www.corning.com