Dow Corning Warns of Slowdown

Dow Cornings big poducts are for LCD and Plasma TV's. If they slowdown, a huge sector or the US is also.

Dow Corning Corp. today reported consolidated adjusted net income of $253.4 million for the third quarter of 2008, an increase of 56 percent from adjusted net income of $162.7 million reported in the same quarter of 2007. For the first three quarters of 2008, adjusted net income was $601.5 million, an increase of 15 percent from adjusted net income of $523.0 million reported in the first three quarters of last year. Adjusted net income excludes a loss from a write down of certain investments in the third quarter of 2008.

The 2007 results were not adjusted for any unusual items. Including all items, Dow Corning reported consolidated net income of $218.0 million for the third quarter of 2008 and $566.1 million for the first three quarters of 2008. Sales were $1.49 billion in the third quarter of 2008, 20 percent higher than sales of $1.24 billion in the same quarter of 2007. Sales in the first three quarters of 2008 were $4.15 billion, 14 percent higher than sales of $3.65 billion reported in the first three quarters of 2007.

"Dow Corning's third quarter was strong as both our silicones segment and our joint venture Hemlock Semiconductor posted excellent performance," said Dow Corning's Vice President and Chief Financial Officer J. Donald Sheets. "There are clear signs of economic uncertainty and we will take immediate action to mitigate these challenges. Dow Corning is well positioned to respond to economic weakness and will continue to make critical investments for the long term health of the company."

Dow Corning provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, Dow Corning offers more than 7,000 products and services via the company's Dow Corning® and Xiameter® brands. Dow Corning is a joint venture equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and Corning, Incorporated (NYSE: GLW). More than half of Dow Corning's annual sales are outside the United States.

This also a warning for investos's in Wal-Mart (WMT), Best Buy (BBY) and Circuit City (CC). If the makers of the glass for the large screen TV's they sell is seeing business slowdown, it is because sales at these locations is also.