Corning forecasts $10 billion in sales by 2014
Corning Inc
In its display segment, which makes up the bulk of Corning's profit, the company said that demand for touchscreen devices and liquid crystal display televisions would create demand for an extra 2 billion square feet of LCD demand in the next three years.
In 2011, it expects demand for LCD glass to run between 3.6 billion and 3.8 billion square feet. Its forecasts came as it hosted an investor presentation in New York.
As consumers have shown little appetite for upgrading their televisions after buying their first flat-screens sets, demand for LCD panels has slowed across the industry. The weaker market has led to price cuts among LCD glass makers.
But Corning posted strong quarterly results last month, suggesting that it was bucking weaker trends in the LCD market. The company said on Friday that the LCD TV replacement rate should be twice that of traditional sets, and that penetration of the LCD market was due to increase.
Corning competes with LG Display Co Ltd <034220.KS> and Asahi Glass Co Ltd <5201.T>.
Corning said 2014 revenue should increase to $10 billion, from $6.6 billion in 2010. Analysts were expecting revenue of $7.72 billion in 2011, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
(Reporting by Liana B. Baker; additional reporting by Paul Thomasch, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
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