Corning Sees Continued Strength in LCD Market
09 Dezembro 2009 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) today will announce that
continued strength in worldwide LCD television sales has led to an
increase in the company’s fourth-quarter glass substrate volume
expectations, and an improved outlook on 2010 glass market growth.
These improved estimates will be provided by Corning Vice Chairman
and Chief Financial Officer James B. Flaws in remarks to be
delivered at the Barclays Capital Global Technology Conference in
San Francisco.
Flaws will tell investors that “lights are green in display,”
noting that worldwide LCD TV year-over-year October sales increased
45%, the second-highest monthly growth rate of the year. He will
point out that the October sales strength occurred in all major TV
markets, with LCD TV unit sales up 28% in the U.S., 20% in Europe,
115% in China, and 73% in Japan. “In the U.S., LCD TV sales
remained strong throughout all of November, including the week of
Black Friday,” Flaws will say. The retail data is the result of
reports from a variety of independent consumer market research
organizations (NPD, GFK, BCN, and CMM) and the company’s internal
analysis.
“As a result,” Flaws will say, “panel makers continue to run at
high utilization rates in the fourth quarter and glass supply is
very tight. We expect glass demand to remain this way through the
remainder of the quarter. Therefore, we are raising our
fourth-quarter volume estimates to flat to up slightly.” Previously
the company said fourth-quarter volume could be flat to down
slightly. Estimates include both Corning’s wholly owned business
and Samsung Corning Precision Glass Co., Ltd., Corning’s equity
affiliate in Korea. “Fourth-quarter demand is strong enough that if
we could produce more glass, we would be able to sell it,” he will
remark.
Flaws will add that Corning now anticipates the worldwide glass
market will be closer to 2.4 billion square feet this year, an
improvement from earlier estimates of 2.3 billion square feet. He
will point out that Corning now believes global LCD TV sales will
exceed 132 million, up from the previous expectation of 129 million
sets.
Regarding other Corning businesses, he will say that the
Telecommunications segment remains on track with the company’s
previous guidance of a 10% to 15% sequential decline as the
industry continues experiencing global weakness, except in China.
The Environmental Technologies segment is seeing
better-than-expected sales strength in both automotive and diesel
products. Automotive demand appears to be fueled by an
industry-wide need to replenish inventory in the supply chain, and
diesel demand is the result of sales in advance of more stringent
2010 heavy-duty engine emissions regulations. This has led Corning
to improve its expectation of fourth-quarter segment sales to be
flat sequentially versus the previous down 10% to 15%.
2010 Market Strength
“The strength of the fourth quarter suggests that the 2010 LCD
glass market could be larger than what we previously thought. If
the supply chain exits this year at healthy levels and retail sales
continue strong, the normal seasonal decline the glass industry
usually experiences in the first quarter may be less than
anticipated,” he will add. “Our early modeling suggests that 2010
worldwide LCD glass demand could be between 2.7 billion and 2.8
billion square feet.” Flaws also will say the company believes its
Display Technologies segment’s gross margin has the potential to
expand in 2010 from its current levels.
Looking forward, Flaws will tell investors, “There is an
opportunity for further LCD glass volume growth over the next
several years. LCD television growth will be driven by penetration
into the embedded TV base, an increase in the number of sets per
home and a shorter replacement cycle.” He will point out that LCD
TVs represent only 19% of the 2.1 billion installed base.
Flaws will comment that the company expects spending across the
Telecommunications industry to be lower next year, as the industry
is typically one of the last to recover from economic downturns. In
its Environmental Technologies segment, automotive emissions
control product sales are expected to grow from their current
depressed levels. He will add that Corning remains confident that
the diesel business could reach $500 million in sales within the
next few years as emissions regulations take hold in several
countries.
In other businesses, he will explain that the Specialty
Materials segment has a significant growth opportunity with its
Gorilla™ glass, a scratch-resistant cover glass for portable
display devices. “The response to Gorilla has been tremendous. The
glass is already used in more than 50 devices today and is included
in the design of 50 additional products planned to be launched in
the future. We believe Gorilla glass has the potential to be a $300
million business in the next several years …with the potential to
be much larger,” he will say.
The company is also making investments in developing glass for
thin-film solar panels; a second generation of its Epic® System for
high-throughput, label-free drug discovery; silicon-on-glass
substrate technology for OLED mobile displays; commercial
production of green lasers for microprojectors; and Advanced-Flow™
glass reactors for chemical production.
“Corning is a growth company and a market leader in each of our
major product areas, with an innovation pipeline that is producing
promising technologies with the potential to deliver significant
revenues over the next decade,” Flaws will conclude.
Corning’s comments to investors at the Barclays Capital Global
Technology Conference will be available by accessing the IR events
calendar on Corning’s Web site. To access the calendar, go to
www.corning.com/investor_relations and click Investor Events on the
left.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” (within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995), which are based on current expectations and assumptions
about Corning’s financial results and business operations, that
involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties
include: the effect of global political, economic and business
conditions; conditions in the financial and credit
markets; currency fluctuations; tax rates; product demand
and industry capacity; competition; reliance on a concentrated
customer base; manufacturing efficiencies; cost reductions;
availability of critical components and materials; new product
commercialization; pricing fluctuations and changes
in the mix of sales between premium and non-premium
products; new plant start-up or restructuring costs;
possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist
activity, armed conflict, political instability or major health
concerns; adequacy of insurance; equity company activities;
acquisition and divestiture activities; the level of excess or
obsolete inventory; the rate of technology change; the ability to
enforce patents; product and components performance issues; stock
price fluctuations; and adverse litigation or regulatory
developments. These and other risk factors
are detailed in Corning’s filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as
of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation
to update them in light of new information or future events.
About Corning Incorporated
Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) is the world leader in
specialty glass and ceramics. Drawing on more than 150 years of
materials science and process engineering knowledge, Corning
creates and makes keystone components that enable high-technology
systems for consumer electronics, mobile emissions control,
telecommunications and life sciences. Our products include glass
substrates for LCD televisions, computer monitors and laptops;
ceramic substrates and filters for mobile emission control systems;
optical fiber, cable, hardware & equipment for
telecommunications networks; optical biosensors for drug discovery;
and other advanced optics and specialty glass solutions for a
number of industries including semiconductor, aerospace, defense,
astronomy and metrology.
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