Corning 3Q Profit Off, But TV Glass Demand Grows

BEN DOBBIN

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Corning Inc. said Monday that demand is rebounding for its flat-screen television glass but the specialty glass maker's third-quarter profit fell 16 percent from a year ago as overall sales slipped.

Both Corning's profit per share and revenue beat Wall Street expectations, however.

Retail sales of liquid-crystal-display TVs remained strong worldwide in the third quarter and "this helped pull a significant amount of product through the supply chain," Corning's chief financial officer, James Flaws, said in a conference call with analysts.

"We anticipate the strong retail environment to continue in the fourth quarter" along with a gradual slide in glass prices, Flaws said. "We do not view gradual panel price declines ... as a negative."

Its shares slipped 14 cents to close at $15.51. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $7.36 to $17.20.

The world's biggest maker of LCD glass for TVs and laptops said it earned $643 million, or 41 cents a share, in the July-September period, down from $768 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier.