Corning Sees Strong Sequential Core Sales And Profit Growth In Q2

(RTTNews) - Corning Inc. (GLW) said it expect strong sequential core sales and profit growth in the second quarter.

Corning said it continued to deliver on its commitment to focus its portfolio and utilize its financial strength to return more than $10 billion to shareholders and to invest $10 billion in growth and sustained leadership through 2019. In the first quarter, the company announced a 12.5% increase in the quarterly dividend, consistent with its plan to increase the dividend per share by at least 10% annually, and repurchased $751 million of outstanding shares. Since announcing our new strategy and capital allocation framework last fall, the company has returned more than $2 billion to shareholders.

"We expect that the company's performance for the remainder of the year will show significant improvement from first-quarter results, and that second-quarter results will reflect the strong underlying trends in our businesses," Tony Tripeny, senior vice president and chief financial officer, said.

Core equity earnings are expected to be between $50 million and $70 million in the second quarter, depending on the closing date of the strategic realignment of Dow Corning announced in December 2015. The company expects the realignment to close by June.