Industry news

Corning has reported net income of US$284 million for the third quarter of 2016, decreasing 87% on quarter but increasing 34% on year. Net sales for the quarter came to US$2.51 billion, up 6% sequentially and 10% on year.

Corning said the earnings exceeded the company's expectations, thanks to "solid operating performance" across all businesses, particularly Optical Communications and Display Technologies. It said sales and earnings are expected to continue to rise in the fourth quarter.

"Corning's strong third-quarter results reflect the increasing momentum that we expected in the second half of this year. Sales and gross margins increased in every business segment year over year. We also grew the company's sales, core earnings and core EPS both sequentially and year over year," Wendell P Weeks, chairman, CEO and president of Corning, said. "Our operating results and progress on key growth initiatives continue to reinforce our confidence in Corning's strategy."

"Third-quarter core earnings grew by 16% versus last year excluding core equity earnings from the former Dow Corning Corporation's silicones business, which no longer contribute to our results. Even without this adjustment, core earnings were 4% higher. We are very pleased by this strength and expect continued year-over-year core sales, core earnings, and core EPS growth in the fourth quarter," R. Tony Tripeny, senior vice president and chief financial officer, added.

Corning said panel makers increased utilization to meet strong set maker demand in advance of the fourth-quarter peak retail season. As a result, glass market volume was up by a high-single digit percentage sequentially, above expectations. Corning's LCD glass volume was up slightly more than the market due to customer mix. Price declines remained moderate, as expected.

The company expects panel maker utilization to remain high and for glass supply to remain tight in the fourth quarter. Sequentially, fourth-quarter volume is expected to be consistent to slightly down, in line with the glass market, as the company's full-year outlook has not changed.

Specialty Materials third-quarter segment sales were up 11% sequentially and 2% year over year, exceeding expectations, according to the company. Sales during the quarter benefited from the introduction of two new Gorilla Glass products.

For the fourth quarter, sales are expected to increase by a high-single-digit percentage year over year driven by volume growth in Gorilla Glass.