Corning revealed on Friday (5th February) that it expects global sales of liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions to rise by over a fifth in 2010, Reuters reports.

The world's largest maker of glass for LCD panels is predicting that 171 million LCD televisions will be bought during the year, with the Chinese market growing quicker than its US counterpart.

In addition, the company claimed that total glass industry volume for 2010 could hit three billion square feet, compared with last year's figure of 2.45 billion square feet.

"A much larger glass market should drive display sales higher [and] we are anticipating a recovery in the auto industry will result in higher sales in our environmental segment," Chief Financial Officer Jim Flaws told the news provider.

Corning also predicted that total LCD glass demand will rise by between 14 per cent and 22 per cent during the year, with flat-screen televisions and personal computers proving particularly popular.

However, the firm suggested that its sales to telecommunications companies - which buy glass for fibre optic cables - could struggle in 2010, despite the positive longer-term projection for the market.

Corning's share in the LCD glass market is over 50 per cent, according to figures released in 2008.

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UPDATE 2-Corning sees rising profit, but outlook hurts stock (05/02/10)

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