Corning Power Outage To Hit Co's 4Q, But Not Holiday TV Sales
20 10월 2009 - 3:33AM
Dow Jones News
The power outage that hit a Corning Inc. (GLW) LCD glass
manufacturing plant in Taiwan over the weekend is expected to hurt
the company's results, but not interrupt flat-screen television
availability during the holidays.
The liquid crystal display panels that Corning made for the
Christmas season were already shipped to television makers like
Sharp Corp. (6753.TO) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.SE),
said Corning spokeswoman Kelli Hopp-Michlosky.
Corning expects a "material" hit to fourth-quarter LCD glass
volume, which is now expected to be flat to slightly down in the
period. Before the incident, fourth-quarter glass volume was
expected to have risen as much as 5% sequentially.
The impact from any product shortages would be felt in the
middle of the first quarter, around February, Hopp-Michlosky
said.
Sales of TVs and other consumer electronics are already seeing a
stutter in demand. Best Buy Co. Inc.'s (BBY) fiscal second-quarter
same-store sales fell 3.1%, hurt by a plunge in videogames, music
and movies, and by ongoing price declines for TVs.
Corning's power problem caused the shutdown of several glass
melting tanks and the company said it is in the process of
determining how much capacity was affected and how long it will
take to repair the tanks.
Corning shares were recently up 10 cents, or 0.7%, to
$15.47.
-By Karen Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2196;
karen.talley@dowjones.com