Western Digital Corp. today reported record revenue of
$2.2 billion, record hard drive shipments of 44.1 million units and net
income of $288 million, or $1.25 per share, for its first fiscal
quarter ended Oct. 2, 2009. In the year-ago quarter, the company
reported revenue of $2.1 billion, unit shipments of 39.4 million, and
net income of $211 million.
The company generated $434 million in cash from operations
during the first quarter, ending with total cash and cash equivalents
of $2.1 billion.
"For the second consecutive quarter, demand for hard drives was
stronger than expected as the positive industry conditions that
materialized in the June quarter continued throughout the September
quarter," said John Coyne, president and chief executive officer. "We
believe this demand is being driven primarily by consumers as a result
of the growing social media phenomenon. This is creating demand in
mobile and desktop PCs, branded products and enterprise storage. Hard
drive inventories remain at historically low levels, reflecting
industry discipline in managing supply and demand.
"In the September quarter, we leveraged our organization-wide
agility to respond to unexpectedly robust demand and again generated
strong financial results. As we enter the December quarter, demand
remains strong and our product line-up, availability and cost profile
position us to benefit from continuing growth opportunities."
Coyne noted that WD continues to realize tangible benefits from
its investments in technology, products, processes and capacity over
the last several years, enabled by the strongest balance sheet in the
industry:
- The company continues to lead the industry in time-to-market
volume shipments of leading capacity points in all segments of the ATA
drive market with its WD Scorpio Blue 1 TB, 750 GB and 640 GB hard
drives utilizing 333 GB-platter technology. Additionally, the company
leads the market with shipments of its 2 TB 3.5-inch hard drives to the
near-line enterprise, desktop, CE and external storage markets. - In branded products, WD continued to grow its business in
fiscal Q1 even as it simultaneously refreshed its entire branded
products line-up, positioning it well for continued growth entering the
holiday season and in the year ahead. The company’s stylish, new
offerings include smaller, smarter, more portable and secure My
Passport and My Book solutions that feature new WD SmartWare
backup, synchronization and content visualization software, hardware
encryption and an innovative e-label display. - WD also expanded its line of media players with the
introduction of the WD TV Mini Media Player, with support for
RealVideo content playback, providing an affordable and convenient
way for consumers to play their stored digital content, and the WD
TV Live Media Player, featuring network connectivity and Full-HD
1080p resolution.
