At an informal encounter with investors during the Deutsche Bank Securities 2006 Technology Conference in Miami on 13 March 2006, Corning Incorporated Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer James B…
At an informal encounter with investors during the Deutsche Bank Securities 2006 Technology Conference in Miami on 13 March 2006, Corning Incorporated Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer James B. Flaws discussed the company“s expectations for continued growth in 2006, with a focus on Display Technologies. “Based on a review of final retail data from the 4Q of 2005 as well as preliminary 1Q data, Corning has revised its expectations for the LCD TV market”, Mr. Flaws said. He told investors that the company now estimates that LCD TV penetration in 2006 will be between 18% and 19%, compared to its original estimate of 17%. The company also anticipates that LCD TV penetration in 2007 will be between 28% and 30%, compared to its original estimate of about 25%. In addition to expecting a higher number of LCD TVs to be shipped in 2006 and 2007, the company now projects an increase in the estimated average screen size. The company also estimates that the number of notebooks to be shipped will be higher in 2006 and 2007 than previously estimated. In February 2006, Corning told investors that notebooks were expected to reach up to 35% penetration by the end of 2007. Mainly as a result of the revised LCD TV penetration and average screen size expectations, the company now estimates that the LCD glass market volume will grow 40% to 50% in 2006, a revision from the company“s previous estimate of “more than 40%”. In addition, the company now estimates the compound average growth rate of the LCD glass market volume to be 37% between 2005 and 2007, versus its original estimate of 32%. Corning noted, as it has in the past, that industry supply chain fluctuations could influence the company“s results in any given quarter. Corning had no changes to its previously disclosed 1Q 2006 guidance.