May 25, 2013
Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) makes building materials, including fiberglass insulation, asphalt, and roofing products.[1] The company is best known for its trademarked PINK colored residential and commercial fiberglass insulation - but in 2000, the company was forced to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy after over 460,000 personal injury lawsuits filed against the company due to the use of asbestos in its insulation.[2] Owens Corning emerged from bankruptcy in October 2006,[3] and it has since regained its 50% market share in the home and industrial insulation, reinforced plastics, and roofing supplies industries. The company eared $4.8 billion in net sales and $64 million in net income in 2009.[4]
A key factor for the company are the high fixed costs involved in making Owens Corning's products, and that its industry is characterized by short-term contracts that don't guarantee that these costs will be recouped if demand slows. Furthermore, Owens Corning's revenue is also heavily correlated to the slumping U.S. Housing Market -- as new home construction stagnates, so does the demand for Owens' products.
(Read more at Wikinvest
) - Company Overview
- Business Segments[5]
- Building Materials (67% of sales)
- Composite Solutions (33% of Sales)
- Business Growth
- FY 2009 (ended December 31, 2009)[4]
- Trends and Forces
- The struggles of the U.S. housing market have hurt OC's revenues
- Increasing Costs of Energy, Materials and Costs of Transportation Keep Owens Corning's Costs High
- Increasing Public Awareness of Energy Efficiency Forces Owens Corning to Develop Better Products
- Competition
- References
