AV Blog from 1st Audio Visual: All Things AV

Flat panel TV sales may brighten Corning: report

by admin on 06/04/09 at 6:54 am

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Flat-panel television sales have stayed healthy, despite the global economic downturn, a good sign for Corning Inc (GLW.N), the world’s No. 1 maker of specialty glass, according to an April 6 edition of Barron’s.

February unit sales of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) televisions were up 39 percent in the United States over last year, the weekly newspaper said, while those in Japan were up 30 percent. Europe posted a 49 percent gain, and sales jumped 109 percent jump in China, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, inventory has been curtailed, leading the 160-year-old company to raise its first-quarter forecast, excluding items, to a profit from break-even, Barron’s said.

Though worldwide sales of televisions are expected to fall by about 4 percent this year, Corning sees LCD TV sales increasing by about 9 percent, Barron’s said.

Jeff Evenson, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, last week raised his 2009 earnings forecast for Corning to 94 cents a share, from 65 cents per share, Barron’s said.

Thornburg Investment Management portfolio manager Connor Browne sees Corning’s earnings reaching a run rate of $1.50 per share annually as the economic recovery begins, Barron’s said.

A normalized multiple of 15 applied to those earnings would put the stock’s price at about $22.50, up 50 percent for its current level of about $15, Barron’s said.

Still, consumers could pull back more, and price wars could break out, Barron’s said. Additionally, the company’s other business, providing optic fiber to the telecommunications industry and emissions control systems to the automotive industries, is expected to remain under pressure because of the economy, Barron’s said.

Source: Reuters