Corning reports Q1 core EPS 41c, consensus 39c

Reports Q1 core sales $3.4B, consensus $3.34B. Wendell Weeks, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Our first-quarter results reflect solid execution on the priorities we outlined in our last call. We took further pricing actions to help offset inflation, and we effectively adjusted our productivity ratios. As a result, profitability improved despite sequentially lower sales, which were impacted by recession-level demand in several key markets and overall weakness in China, as anticipated. We expect our results to improve in the second quarter, although conditions remain weak in multiple markets. We are focused on profitability and cash flow and will continue to align our cost structure to demand. At the same time, Corning’s capabilities are vital to our customers’ growth strategies, so we will move forward on our initiatives to capture upside as it occurs."