innGROWTHovation 2004 annual report and 2005 proxy statement Corning today: CORNING INCORPORATED IS A DIVERSIFIED TECHNOLOGY COMPANY WITH A RICH HISTORY SPANNING MORE THAN 150 YEARS. CORNING CONCENTRATES EFFORTS ON HIGH-IMPACT GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES WORLDWIDE.WE COMBINE OUR 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 FLAT PANEL DISPLAY, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL AND LIFE SCIENCES MARKETS. James R. Houghton Chairman & Chief Executive Officer to our Shareholders: CORNING INCORPORATED’S PERFORMANCE DURING 2004 TELLS A STORY NOT ONLY OF TURNAROUND, BUT OF GROWTH. IT IS A STORY NOT ONLY OF SURVIVING THE GREATEST CHALLENGES IN OUR HISTORY, BUT OF THRIVING AGAIN IN SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST EXCITING TECHNOLOGY MARKETS. For two years in a row, Corning management and staff all I Protecting our financial health over the world have delivered significant improvement for our shareholders, continuing to implement the plan our Corning’s liquidity remains strong. We ended the year with Management Committee formulated and launched in mid- $1.9 billion in cash and short-term investments — exceeding 2002. We have rebuilt a strong financial foundation for the the target we had set for ourselves. Our $2 billion revolving company — and in turn, we have been able to invest in credit agreement remains untouched, just as it has been for several significant growth initiatives that are building our the past several years. strategic position and yielding returns for our shareholders. We reduced our overall debt to less than $2.7 billion. With We continue to be at the leading edge of a wide variety of the non-cash asset write-offs we took in the third quarter, our high-growth industries — certainly with our liquid crystal debt-to-capital ratio increased to 41 percent, but that should display products, but also as innovation leaders in environ- come down as we continue to reduce debt in the year ahead. mental and telecommunications products. Additionally, we are making significant technology advances in products for With all these encouraging factors in place, the major rating the life sciences industry. agencies improved their view of our credit during 2004. This is an important step toward our return to investment- Across all these activities, we are focused on a strategy that grade ratings, a goal we are looking forward to achieving will fuel our long-term growth and sustain shareholder value. in 2005. And we are executing that strategy on an increasingly global scale. Asia, in particular, has become a technology hotbed We have continued to focus on achieving positive free cash for the entire world, and we are operating effectively within flow — or, simply put, bringing in more cash from opera- that region to fully leverage all our global opportunities. tions than we spend on capital and investments. This is an ongoing challenge, particularly since our renewed growth Our priorities for 2004 requires a considerable amount of capital spending. But with a system-wide focus on controlling our spending — even as As we have done for the past few years, we structured our our overall financial picture improved — we ended the year operating plan for 2004 against a set of very specific priori- on the positive side, well ahead of our free cash flow targets. ties. Here’s a recap of our accomplishments: I Improving our profitability liquid crystal display (LCD) business, is a case in point. All our LCD customers — and competitors — are located in Our year-over-year total sales revenues increased nearly Asian countries; this is where the decision-making takes place. 25 percent in 2004. At the same time, we were very rigorous in controlling costs and improving our gross margins. Our This pattern has formed in many of our other segments as Display Technologies segment was a major factor in our well. In telecommunications, Korea is the country with the revenue improvements, and the performances of our other highest usage of broadband networks. Many of our telecom operating segments gave us confidence in the rest of our competitors are European or Japanese. In environmental diverse business portfolio as well. We were especially encour- products, all of our competitors are Japanese — and in the aged by the improvement in our wholly-owned business next 10 years, 40 percent of the growth in worldwide auto units in 2004. Together, these factors help set the stage production will be in China. for our profitability goals in the year ahead. Accordingly, we are in the process of locating portions of I Investing in the future our research and manufacturing capacities closer to our customers. And this past year, for the first time, more than As we’ve been reporting to you over the past few years, half of our workforce was based outside the United States. we have developed a strong and diverse business portfolio through consistent investment in a broad range of technolo- We know that in the ever-widening scope of our business, gies — and during 2004, we continued to focus on securing there remain some factors beyond our control. With so and extending leadership in our growth markets. many of our revenues coming in non-U.S. currencies, we are subject to significant fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. This company grows best by focusing on innovation on a Our markets are still highly dynamic and they will continue global scale. We have clearly articulated this approach to to face ongoing cycles as part of their overall growth pattern. both our internal organization and to Wall Street — our There are obvious political risks in some of the countries strength is taking our deep knowledge of materials science where we are operating and trying to expand. and manufacturing processes, and then using them to work collaboratively with our customers to solve tough problems. So we are keeping a relentless focus on what we can control. We follow the trends that benefit society the most — from In general, that involves our continuous quest to take unnec- clean air, to faster communications, to better health care — essary costs out of our system — and, at the same time, to so that our efforts will always be of high value. reduce complexity and create efficient scalability across all our processes. It’s an enormous challenge — but our formula I Living our Values for addressing it is working. Underlying all our efforts is an ongoing focus on our Values Why we’re up to the challenge — the solid foundation that guides how we plan strategically, how we interact with our customers, how we develop our The Management Committee and I remain as confident employees and how we manage every other aspect of our as ever that Corning will continue along its path toward business. We are listening intently to our employees at every long-term growth and shareholder rewards. We base that level of the organization, working hard to maintain an envi- confidence largely on three things: ronment that is challenging, rewarding and creative. THE STRENGTH OF OUR INNOVATION CULTURE. Our strongest Winning on the global stage competitive strength has always been — and continues to be — our unparalleled understanding of glass and ceramics, As we continue to evolve as a company, we find we must materials science, and in-depth manufacturing and process take advantage of our global position like never before. expertise. Our ongoing investments in research and develop- ment have built a technology portfolio that is both broad In the industries where we participate, the thought leadership and deep. We are working toward our goal of minimizing is increasingly based outside the United States, particularly our dependence on a single technology platform — and thus, in Asia. The consumer electronics industry, including the being able to better weather inevitable cycles. Our world- Transitions class laboratories at Sullivan Park remain the heart of our I want to review with you here an announcement that we made innovation culture, and our scientists there have learned in late January. to work seamlessly with research teams all over the world. Back in 2002 — when I returned as Chairman and Chief Executive THE STRENGTH OF OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM. This starts with Officer — the Board of Directors and I had no timetable for how our Board of Directors, whose members are very active and long I would remain in either of these roles. Rather, we agreed supportive of the strategic processes that helped us return to simply wait until the time seemed right to make any major to stability and thrive once again. It continues with our sea- leadership transitions. soned leadership team, a group of men and women who inspire me daily with their wisdom, strategic competencies And now, three years later, the time is right to implement the and deep understanding of Corning’s core businesses and succession plans that have been evolving for some time. technologies. And these leaders are directing a remarkable, highly dedicated workforce — skilled professionals who Therefore, I recommended to the board in January that Wendell have worked together to ensure the future of our company, P. Weeks become president and chief executive officer for Corning and who have continued to demonstrate a deep pride of Incorporated. The board enthusiastically endorsed my recommen- association with Corning. dation. And this transition will take place on April 28, the day of our annual shareholders meeting. THE STRENGTH OF OUR VALUES. We remain devoted to the principle that “how we do things” is as important as “what I also agreed to remain in my active role as Chairman for we get done.” And we will never compromise on this issue.