Earnings Preview: LCD Glass Lifts Corning

BEN DOBBIN

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Specialty glass maker Corning Inc. reports its results for the third quarter on Monday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: Corning, the world's biggest maker of liquid-crystal-display glass for flat-panel televisions and laptops, has been on a bumpy ride over the last year. It eliminated 3,500 jobs in January after recession-jittery panel makers slashed purchases to reduce a buildup in inventories. But retail sales of LCD-TVs held steady and demand for Corning's ultra-thin glass rebounded midway through the first quarter. Second-quarter glass volume doubled over the first quarter at its wholly owned business and rose 50 percent at its joint venture with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. In July, Corning raised its 2009 estimate of worldwide glass sales to 2.3 billion square feet from 2 billion square feet in 2008.

Corning expects third-quarter volume at its wholly owned business will be down less than 5 percent from the second quarter. It previously forecast a decline of 5 percent to 10 percent after an earthquake in August cut production in Shizuoka, Japan. Volume at its joint venture will still be flat to slightly higher, it said. The disruption will cut sales by about $25 million and result in $22 million in charges.