Corning 1Q profit jumps to $816 million on high demand for LCD-TV glass; beats forecast

Corning earns soar in 1Q on TV glass demand

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Corning Inc. says its profit soared in the first quarter on surging sales of glass for flat-panel televisions.

The world’s largest maker of liquid-crystal-display glass says sales in its display technologies segment more than doubled. Its profit easily beat Wall Street estimates.

The company said Wednesday it earned $816 million, or 52 cents per share, in the January-March period. That’s up sharply from $14 million, or 1 cent, a year earlier.

Analysts expected lower earnings of 42 cents a share.

Corning says sales jumped 57 percent to $1.55 billion — narrowly beating analysts’ forecasts of $1.52 billion.

Its shares edged up 28 cents to $20.40 a share on pre-opening trading.