Corning Gains on Shipments of Gorilla Glass, Fiber

By Cara Lombardo 

Corning Inc.'s shares rose 6.6% Tuesday after the glassmaker's sales increased in its latest quarter as more consumer electronics featured its scratch-resistant glass.

The company reported sales of $2.6 billion, up 4% from a year before, with the biggest boosts coming from its specialty-materials business, led by stronger shipments of Gorilla Glass.

Specialty-materials sales rose 26% to $373 million. Corning first introduced its damage-resistant Gorilla Glass a decade ago and has refined it over the years for use in products ranging from car windows to Android watches and Apple iPhones.

Sales in the company's optical-communications unit rose 15%, with Chief Executive Wendell Weeks saying on an earnings call with analysts that the company celebrated a "major milestone" during the quarter when it produced its 1 billionth kilometer of fiber.

"That's one-third of the optical fiber ever produced in the history of the world," he said. "It's also enough to go to the sun and back 3 1/2 times."

The Corning, N.Y., company said it expects to meet or beat its 2017 sales guidance and increase its dividends by at least 10% in each of the next two years.

While revenue increased in four of Corning's five segments, sales in the company's display technologies unit slid 15% to $768 million as LCD glass prices declined.

Overall for the third quarter, Corning reported a profit of $390 million, or 39 cents a share, compared with $284 million, or 26 cents a share, the year before.

Excluding currency fluctuations and other items, the company said it earned 43 cents a share, up from 42 cents a year before. Core sales, which excludes special items, rose 6% to $2.7 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected adjusted earnings per share of 41 cents on core revenue of $2.6 billion.

Shares in Corning are up 32% this year.

Write to Cara Lombardo at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 24, 2017 13:13 ET (17:13 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.