WDC Off 5%: Several Quarters To Fix Thai Flood Damage
By Tiernan Ray
October 19, 2011, 5:56 PM ET
blogs.barrons.com
Shares of disk drive maker Western Digital ( WDC) are down $1.19, or almost 5%, at $23.28, after the company this afternoon reported fiscal Q1 revenue and earnings per share comfortably ahead of expectations, but forecast the current quarter’s revenue well below consensus, and forecast a surprise net loss per share, thanks to damage to the company’s manufacturing facilities in Thailand from recent flooding.
Revenue in the three months ended in September rose 12.5%, year over year, to $2.7 billion, yielding EPS of $1.01.
During the company’s conference call with analysts this evening, CFO Wolfgang Nickl said the company can’t be sure how long it will take to recover from the Thailand floods that have shut down its operations there, and operations of suppliers:
We have shut down our Thailand factories and are at this point not in a position to establish when they will recommence operations. Furthermore, some of our key suppliers have ceased production as well and are significantly impacted. We are working diligently with them but at this point in time we do not yet fully understand the time line for their full recovery. Both of these conditions will likely continue into the March quarter and possibly beyond. We will be impacted negatively by the significant cost of efforts and infrastructure. We also expect to incur additional costs in restoring supply.
For the current quarter, the company said revenue will fall to $1.05 billion to $1.25 billion, yielding a net loss per share of $1.50 to $1.10.
Analysts have been modeling $2.57 billion and $1.05 per share.
Shares of competitor Seagate Technology ( STX) are up 20 cents, or 1.7%, at $12.25 in late trading. |
