CORNING, N.Y., JUNE 23 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) today said that strong U.S. liquid crystal display (LCD) TV sales reported through the first five months of the year reinforces the company’s belief that the 2008 global LCD glass market will grow at the upper end of its original 25% to 30% year-over-year estimate.
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"So far this year, we are not seeing evidence of the economic downturn impacting our forecasted growth," said James B. Flaws, vice chairman and chief financial officer. "In fact, the evidence we have shows that May LCD TV sales in the U.S. increased nearly 50% over a year ago. This view is consistent with outside, third-party sources such as The NPD, an independent consumer market research firm. We cannot guarantee that retail sales will remain resistant to economic pressures. However, the strength of TV sales to date is consistent with consumers’ behavior during the last three recessions."
"We have seen LCD TV sales grow significantly year over year every month this year. The strength of reported LCD TV sales through the first five months of this year leads us to believe that the worldwide market will reach the 105 million units that we originally forecasted," Flaws said.
Remarking on supply chain concerns, Flaws said, "Our conversations with our customers, the panel manufacturers, indicate that their inventories are at very reasonable levels as the supply chain prepares for seasonally robust second-half demand." Flaws added that Corning’s display facilities continue to operate at full capacity, "and our customers are also running at high utilization rates."
About Corning Incorporated
Corning Incorporated ( http://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.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a variety of business risks and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include the possibility of changes in global economic and political conditions; currency fluctuations; product demand and industry capacity; competition; manufacturing efficiencies; cost reductions; availability of critical components and materials; new product commercialization; changes in the mix of sales between premium and non-premium products; new plant start-up 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. Additional risk factors are identified 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.
