Corning forecasts weak quarterly profit on lower demand for optical fiber cables

(Reuters) - Specialty glass maker Corning on Tuesday forecast first-quarter profit below Wall Street expectations, as it grapples with lower demand for its optical fiber cables from telecom customers.

The company expects adjusted profit between 32 cents and 38 cents per share, below analysts' estimates of 39 cents, according to LSEG data. It sees core sales at about 3.1 billion for the current quarter, compared with analysts expectation of 3.18 billion.

"We anticipate the first quarter to be the low quarter of the year and to drive profitable, durable growth over the long term," finance chief Ed Schlesinger said in a statement.

Sales at the optical communications segments fell 24% year-on-year, primarily hurt by low orders from carrier customers as they continue to draw down inventory.

Sales at the company's specialty materials business, which houses the Gorilla Glass product used in smartphones, fell 6% year-on-year.

However, momentum in the global smartphone market is recovering after a challenging post-pandemic period, according to a report by industry research firm IDC earlier this month.

Core gross margin in the fourth quarter grew by 330 basis points year-on-year as Corning raised prices in its display technologies segment and reduced inventory.

Shares of Corning, whose Gorilla Glass is used by the likes of Samsung and Apple, rose nearly 3% before the bell.

Corning reported core sales of $3.27 billion in the fourth quarter, slightly above estimates of $3.26 billion. Adjusted profit of 39 cents per share met expectations.

(Reporting by Priyanka.G in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)