Corning Inc

Corning Inc. posted an 11% increase in quarterly profit and an optimistic outlook Monday, fueled by strength in its display business. Corning, which makes glass for flat-panel displays and fiber-optic cables, earned $717 million, or 45 cents a share, for the final three months last year, up from $646 million, or 41 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 16% to $1.6 billion. For the year, the company earned $2.15 billion, or $1.34 a share, up from $1.85 billion, or $1.16, for the previous year.

Corning Inc. said it was cutting 3,500 jobs, or 13% of its payroll, as demand slumped for glass used in flat-screen televisions and computers. The specialty glass and ceramics company announced the cutbacks as its fourth-quarter profit plunged 65% to $249 million, or 16 cents a share, from $717 million, or 45 cents, a year earlier. Sales fell 31% to $1.08 billion. Corning shares climbed 4 cents to $9.99.

Lockheed Martin Corp. said Tuesday that first-quarter profit rose 27% after margins widened in space and aircraft programs. The company raised its 2005 sales and earnings forecasts. Net income climbed to $369 million, or 83 cents a share, from $291 million, or 65 cents, a year earlier, the Bethesda, Md.-based company said. Sales rose 1.7% to $8.5 billion, the smallest gain in three years.

Corning Inc. agreed to pay $300 million to settle 12,400 asbestos lawsuits stemming from a pipe-making joint venture. The agreement clears Corning from all asbestos liability. Claimants sued its Pittsburgh Corning Corp. joint venture with PPG Industries Inc., forcing the venture to seek bankruptcy protection in 2000. PPG, facing 100,000 claims, agreed in May to pay $2.7 billion.

Avanex Corp. said Monday that it has agreed to acquire the optical component businesses of both Alcatel and Corning Inc. for $67.4 million in stock, bolstering its position as a maker of components and subsystems for fiber-optic networks. The transaction calls for Alcatel to hold a 28% stake in Avanex and for Corning to hold a 17% stake. The figures are based on Avanex's Friday closing price of $1.12. Based on current share levels, Alcatel would receive about 35.

Corning Inc. said it will offer an early-retirement program and take a second-quarter charge, which will be offset by a gain from the March sale of its cookware division. The optical fiber and cable maker did not disclose the expected size of the charge, or the gain from the sale of Corning Consumer Products, except to say it was a "modest" gain. The early retirement will be offered to administrative employees the company no longer needs after the sale of its cookware unit, Corning said.

The state Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the parent companies of Dow Corning Corp. can be sued by 1,600 California women who blame breast implants for their illnesses. A state appeals court ruled last September that Dow Chemical and Corning Inc. could not be held responsible for the alleged defects of silicone gel implants. The ruling was a blow to the women, who had hoped to sidestep Dow Corning's bankruptcy by suing the solvent parent companies.

Corning Inc. of New York is negotiating with the federal government to settle charges that its Southern California medical research center improperly billed Medicare and other government-sponsored health plans for laboratory services, a Corning spokeswoman said Thursday. Corning officials declined to elaborate on charges involving its San Juan Capistrano-based center, Nichols Institute. Another Corning unit, however, Damon Clinical Laboratories Inc.