News
Corning lowers 4Q profit outlook

Nov. 18, 2008 – New York – Shares of Corning Inc. tumbled 7 percent Tuesday after the specialty
glass maker lowered its fourth-quarter sales and profit guidance to
reflect slumping demand for glass used in flat-screen televisions and
computers.

Shares of Corning Inc. tumbled 7 percent Tuesday after the specialty
glass maker lowered its fourth-quarter sales and profit guidance to
reflect slumping demand for glass used in flat-screen televisions and
computers.

Profit in the October-December period will be at the
low end or below a previous projection of 20 cents to 28 cents a share,
the company said. Sales are expected to fall below previous guidance of
$1.1 billion to $1.2 billion.

The world's largest maker of liquid-crystal-display glass also said it was withdrawing previously disclosed guidance for 2009.

On
average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 25
cents a share and sales of $1.32 billion in the fourth quarter. They
projected a $1.24 profit on sales of $5.66 billion next year.

As
the global economy worsens, consumers are reining in purchases of
LCD-TVs, especially larger-screen models, and industry analysts expect
the drop in sales will be more severe in 2009.

DisplaySearch, a
market research firm based in Austin, Texas, expects to pare back its
prediction of 30.2 million LCD-TV shipments in North America this year
by just "a million or 2 million units," analyst Paul Gagnon said. "Most
of the impact won't be felt until next year.

"Currently we're
projecting about 130 million shipments worldwide" in 2009, up from
around 102 million in 2008, Gagnon said. "That might come down, in the
best case scenarios, by maybe 10 million units. But it could get worse,
especially if the recovery takes a lot longer to materialize."

Corning,
a 157-year-old company based in western New York, commands more than 50
percent of the global market for its high-profit LCD glass.

"Their
relatively low-competition position atop the supply chain makes them
better off than other players," Gagnon said. "The panel makers are
really feeling the brunt of it."

After plunging as much as 18
percent to a five-year low, Corning's stock rallied in afternoon
trading to finish at $8.39, down 64 cents, on the New York Stock
Exchange.

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