DisplayBlog » Corning

Corning Q1′08: Glass Volume Up 50% Y/Y

Jin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:04:07 +0000

On April 29, 2008, Corning (GLW) announced Q1′08 results. Overall sales were up 24% Y/Y to US$1.62 billion. What I’m interested in is the Display Technologies division: Glass volume increased 2% Q/Q and 50% Y/Y. Part of the Display Technologies division is Samsung Corning Precision Glass (SCP) where volume was flat Q/Q but up 46% Y/Y.

Q1′08 Results

Glass volume (all): Up 2% Q/Q and 50% Y/Y
Glass volume (SCP): Flat Q/Q and 46% Y/Y
Glass sales (all): Up 7% Q/Q and 58% Y/Y to US$829 million

As I understand it, Corning’s glass sales are in Japanese Yen. With the weakening US dollar, Corning’s sales and earnings benefited.

The company has a rosy Q2′08…

Continue reading…

Demand for Corning Glass Getting Stronger… Really?

Jin — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:48:04 +0000

Mark Sue, a RBC analyst, upgraded Corning’s stock from “Neutral” to “Buy”. He based this decision on the assumption that “demand for Corning glass is getting stronger due to the popularity, and growing size, of LCD TV screens around the world.” I am not sure if Mr. Sue has been reading the news lately, but I must disagree.

Samsung 19″ LCD Monitor Panel using Soda-Lime Glass Substrate

Jin — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 04:03:05 +0000

Instead of using the typical TFT LCD glass substrate, Samsung Electronics displayed a 19″ LCD monitor panel using a soda-lime glass substrate at the FPD International 2007 conference in Yokohama, Japan. The LCD monitor features a pixel format of 1280 x 1024. Normal TFT LCD glass substrates are sodium- and alkali-free. Soda-lime glass is not as transparent as regular TFT LCD glass substrates and may need a more powerful backlight or a more efficient optical film stack to compensate. In addition, soda-lime glass is difficult to make thin. Current TFT LCD glass substrates are just 0.5mm to 0.7mm thick. Although there is potential for a reduction of material cost going from normal LCD glass to soda-lime glass, there will be some difficulties to overcome. But Samsung seems to have everything under control at its G5 plant with the 19″ LCD monitor panel featuring a brightness of 300 cd/m2, a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a color gamut of 72% NTSC. Samsung stated that volume production is imminent. I am not sure who supplies soda-lime glass, but this news might impact Corning. Corning is one of the largest suppliers of LCD glass.

Source: DigiTimes