Corning Inc.'s (GLW) fourth-quarter profit nearly tripled on
surging margins while strong sales of laptop computers and liquid
crystal display televisions increased demand for Corning's
glass.
Results beat Wall Street expectations and shares rose 1%
premarket to $18.90.
"Momentum picked up in the second quarter and our performance
improved each quarter thereafter," said Chairman and Chief
Executive Wendell P. Weeks.
Corning, primarily a maker of glass for LCD TVs and fiber optic
cable, had said demand continued to be strong from a record third
quarter from LCD TVs in the holiday-season fourth quarter.
The company reported a profit of $740 million, or 47 cents a
share, up from $249 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier. The
latest quarter included a 3-cent gain. Revenue increased 41% to
$1.53 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 42
cents on revenue of $1.45 billion.
Gross margin surged to 42.4% from 28.3%.
Sales in Corning's Display Technologies segment rose 84% to $717
million on robust retail demand for LCD products.
Telecommunications sales were down 10% amid low demand for new
homes offset somewhat by sales in China.
Equity earnings were $461 million, up 60% from the same quarter
last year.
Looking forward, Corning said it expected a mild recovery in the
developed world economies and continued growth in China. The
company said the overall display glass market should be higher than
previous expectations of low seasonal demand, with a volume
increase of 8% to 12% in the first quarter from the end of
2009.
-By Joel Stonington, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2934;
joel.stonington@wsj.com