Corning Q1 Core Results Top View, Says Confident Of 2014 Growth Plan

(RTTNews) - Specialty glass maker Corning Inc. (GLW) reported Monday a sharp decline in first-quarter profit on one-time items, despite strong growth in net sales. Core earnings per share and net sales, however, topped analysts' estimates. Looking ahead, the company said it is confident of delivering on its 2014 growth plan.

In pre-market activity, the glass, ceramics, and related materials manufacturer's shares gained $0.76 or 3.66 percent, and traded at $21.50.

Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer James Flaws said, "The strong first-quarter performance across all our business units has given us momentum for the remainder of the year. We are starting to benefit from the synergies we anticipated with the consolidation of Corning Precision Materials, and, as LCD price declines lessen, we expect improved results throughout the year."

For the first quarter, net income attributable to Corning decreased 39 percent to $301 million or $0.20 per share from $494 million or $0.33 per share in the previous year.

Core earnings, which excluded certain items, were $461 million or $0.31 per share for the quarter, compared to prior year's $431 million or $0.29 per share.

On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $0.30 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Wendell Weeks stated that the firm is continuing its trend of core earnings improvement with sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year core earnings growth.

Net sales increased 26 percent to $2.29 billion from $1.81 billion a year ago. Core net sales were $2.39 billion, an increase of 32 percent from last year. Analysts expected revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter.

Core sales in the Display Technologies segment increased 58 percent from the year-ago period, resulting primarily from the recent consolidation of Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. Total LCD glass volume grew by low single digits.

Sales in the Optical Communications segment increased 26 percent and saw its greatest growth in North America. Sales of Environmental Technologies increased 21 percent benefited from strong demand for heavy-duty diesel emissions products.

In the quarter, gross margin improved to $935 million from last year's $770 million. Core gross margin was 44 percent, an increase of one percentage point from last year.

Looking ahead for the second quarter, Corning expects its LCD glass volume to be up by a high single-digit percentage sequentially, while price declines would be significantly less than the first quarter.

Optical Communications segment's sales for the quarter would grow by a mid-to-high single-digit percentage, and sales of Environmental Technologies segment would grow by a low-to-mid teen percentage year-over-year.