Corning reports fourth-quarter and full-year 2015 financial results

Corning has announced its results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2015.

For the fourth quarter of 2015, Corning reported core sales of US$2.4 billion and core EPS of US$0.34, compared with US$2.5 billion and US$0.42, respectively, in 2014. Net sales (GAAP) for the fourth quarter were US$2.2 billion and GAAP EPS were US$0.17, compared with US$2.4 billion and US$0.70, respectively, in 2014.

For the full-year 2015, core sales were US$9.8 billion and core EPS were US$1.40, compared with US$10 billion and US$1.42, respectively, in 2014. Net sales (GAAP) for 2015 were US$9.1 billion and GAAP EPS were US$1, compared with US$9.7 billion and US$1.73, respectively, in 2014. Adjusted operating cash flow for the full year remained strong at US$3.2 billion.

In October 2015, Corning announced a new strategy and capital allocation framework that targets generating and deploying more than US$20 billion through 2019, with the majority of these funds expected to come from operating cash flow. The company plans to invest approximately US$10 billion in opportunities to grow and sustain its leadership positions, and return more than US$10 billion to shareholders.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, Display Technologies core sales were US$903 million, compared with US$1.055 billion in the same period a year ago. Sequential LCD glass volume declined slightly, as expected. LCD glass prices continued to moderate as expected and declined less than in the third quarter. Core earnings in the fourth quarter were US$234 million, compared with US$356 million a year ago.

In the first quarter of 2016, Corning anticipates that panel maker utilization will continue to decline, which will reduce inventory levels in the supply chain. As a result, the overall glass market and Corning's LCD glass volume are expected to decline by a mid-to-high single-digit percentage sequentially. Corning's LCD glass price decline is expected to be moderate, achieving what will be one of the lowest first-quarter declines in five years.

For the full year of 2016, Corning expects moderate sequential price declines to continue, and its glass volume to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage year over year, in line with total glass demand growth. Corning expects global television unit sales will grow by a low single-digit percentage, and the average screen size will increase by at least 1.5-inch. The company expects panel maker utilization to increase as the year progresses, and retail LCD glass area demand to be up by a high single-digit percentage in 2016.