Corning Inc. is sending out positive vibes about its upcoming second-quarter earnings report, and indications are that results will meet or exceed the company“s expectations.
Top officials of the co…
Corning Inc. is sending out positive vibes about its upcoming second-quarter earnings report, and indications are that results will meet or exceed the company“s expectations. Top officials of the company have said, during public appearances, that all businesses are on track to meet earlier forecasts. However, these forecasts deal only with demand, retail sales and growth rates in specific businesses, and not with revenues or profits, making it difficult to determine whether the company has met its second quarter financial goals because it has not announced them. Current consensus from Wall Street, is that Corning will earn 52 cents per share, up from 39 cents per share in the second quarter of 2009 and level with the first quarter of 2010. With regards to revenue, Corning will take in USD 1.64 billion, an increase from USD 1.40 billion in the same period of 2009, and USD 1.55 billion in the first quarter of 2010. Analysts have repeatedly raised their second-quarter estimates for Corning, which reflects continuing strong demand for the company“s liquid crystal display glass used in televisions, notebook computers and monitors. Another factor is the increasing growth of Corning“s touch-screen Gorilla Glass. Other than strong markets for its speciality glasses, Corning also expects a 10-15% increase over first-quarter sales in its telecommunications business, with the start of fiber-to-the-home projects in Canada and Australia and stronger private network demand for optical fiber and cable expected to boost that business. Corning“s relatively high net income in 2010, at about 50% of sales, results from at least two factors. The first regards the company“s significant cut in payroll and other costs due to the 2008-09 recession. Manufacturing operations in the highly profitable Display Technologies business have also been highly efficient. There is no date as yet for the second-quarter earnings announcement, which normally takes place during the second half of July.