Corning (GLW 1.63%) shares tumbled 3% in early trading today, despite the company reporting fairly good numbers in its earnings report for its fiscal second quarter.
Net sales were up 4% year-over-year at Corning, with "core" net sales, which exclude the effects of "changes in Japanese yen to U.S. dollar exchange rate and other yen transactions, equity earnings from the polysilicon business of Dow Corning Corporation, as well as other special items" up a more impressive 11%.
Profits at Corning came in at $638 million, or $0.43 per share, increasing 35%, or 39%, respectively. Analysts had been expecting only $0.31 per share in profits.
Looking forward, Corning Chief Financial Officer James B. Flaws predicted "good sales and earnings growth, driven by" Corning's LCD television glass business, which is benefiting from less-steep-than-feared declines in glass prices on world markets, and "consistent to up slightly" volumes of glass shipped by Corning. Specialty Materials sales, the business that includes Corning's popular Gorilla glass for smartphones, is expected to post 10% sales growth in the current quarter.
