Corning to Present at Florida Investor Conference; Company Will Reaffirm Quarterly Guidance.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CORNING, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2004

Corning Incorporated's (NYSE:GLW) Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, James B. Flaws, will discuss the company's growth opportunities in liquid crystal display (LCD) glass, fiber to the premises and diesel substrates during the Deutsche Bank Information Technology Hardware Conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in South Beach, Florida, today.

During the discussion, Flaws will also reaffirm the company's 2004 first-quarter revenue guidance in the range of $770 million to $830 million, with earnings per share in the range of $0.04 to $0.05, before special items. "We are two months into the quarter and I am pleased to say that we are on track to meet our original guidance for revenues and earnings per share," Flaws will say.

Flaws will also tell investors that the company is experiencing stronger than expected demand for LCD glass products during the first quarter and it is updating guidance for these products. Corning will say that it now expects sequential volume growth of LCD glass to be more than 10 percent in the first quarter, versus its previous guidance of 5 percent to 10 percent. The company still expects LCD pricing in the first quarter to remain stable.

Corning's proprietary and scalable fusion technology enables the company to supply the growing number of customers installing fifth and sixth generation LCD fabrication lines. Corning was the first to introduce a Gen 5 substrate and, in June 2003, became the first commercial supplier of Gen 6 substrates. Further, Corning is developing Gen 7 capability and expects it will reach the market in the second half of 2004.

Flaws will also say that the company is seeing slightly weaker optical fiber volume in North America and now expects first quarter volume to decline sequentially by 10 percent to 15 percent. It had previously said that optical fiber volume would be stable to down 5 percent. "While we are getting off to a slower start than expected in fiber, we still expect optical fiber volume for the full year to be stable with last year," Flaws will say. "The good news here is that fiber pricing continues to moderate and is within our original expectations for the quarter."

Corning's discussion with investors at the Deutsche Bank Information Technology Hardware Conference will be available on Corning's Web site at www.corning.com/investor_relations by accessing the IR events calendar.

Presentation of Information in this News Release

Cornings earnings estimate for the first quarter is a non-GAAP financial measure as it excludes any potential gains or losses arising from previously announced restructuring actions, any further adjustments to the asbestos settlement reserve required by movement in Cornings stock price and income from discontinued operations. The company believes presenting earnings estimates that exclude these items is helpful in understanding Cornings operating results.

About Corning Incorporated 

Corning Incorporated is a diversified technology company that concentrates its efforts on high-impact growth opportunities. Corning combines its expertise in specialty glass, ceramic materials, polymers and the manipulation of the properties of light, with strong process and manufacturing capabilities to develop, engineer and commercialize significant innovative products for the telecommunications, flat panel display, environmental, semiconductor, and life sciences industries.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a variety of business risks and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include the possibility of changes or fluctuations in global economic and political conditions; tariffs, import duties and currency fluctuations; product demand and industry capacity; competitive products and pricing; manufacturing efficiencies; cost reductions; availability and costs of critical components and materials; new product development and commercialization; order activity and demand from major customers; capital spending by larger customers in the liquid crystal display industry and other businesses; changes in the mix of sales between premium and non-premium products; facility expansions and new plant start-up costs; possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity, armed conflict, political instability or major health concerns; ability to obtain financing and capital on commercially reasonable terms; adequacy and availability of insurance; capital resource and cash flow activities; capital spending; equity company activities; interest costs; acquisition and divestiture activities; the level of excess or obsolete inventory; the rate of technology change; the ability to enforce patents; product and components performance issues; changes in key personnel; stock price fluctuations; and adverse litigation or regulatory developments. These and other risk factors are identified in Corning's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.