Hutchinson Technology Expects Fiscal Fourth Quarter EPS of $0.15 to $0.20
Earnings Improving on Higher Volumes Resulting from Market Share Gains
Thursday September 12, 7:59 am ET
HUTCHINSON, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2002--Hutchinson Technology Incorporated (Nasdaq:HTCH - News) said today that it currently expects to report net income per diluted share of $0.15 to $0.20 on net sales of $105 to $110 million for its fiscal fourth quarter ending September 29, 2002. In guidance given in late July, the company had said it expected to report net income per diluted share of up to $0.10 on net sales of $90 to $100 million for its fiscal 2002 fourth quarter.
Wayne M. Fortun, Hutchinson Technology's president and chief executive officer, said the company's fourth quarter performance is benefiting from higher volumes. "Through the first ten weeks of the fourth quarter, our shipments of suspension assemblies averaged 8.3 million units per week and we currently expect weekly shipment volumes to trend upward for the balance of the quarter," said Fortun. In the fiscal 2002 third quarter, the company shipped approximately 100 million suspensions. "We believe this volume growth is primarily the result of market share gains reflecting the increasingly broad adoption of our TSA platform within the disk drive industry."
The company's expected earnings per share for the fiscal fourth quarter include a net charge of $1.0 million, or $0.04 per share, related to its prepayment in the quarter of approximately $26.6 million of long-term debt. Prepayment of this portion of the company's long-term debt will generate a cumulative reduction in interest expense primarily benefiting fiscal 2003 of approximately $1.5 million. At the end of its fiscal 2002 third quarter, the company's cash and cash equivalents and securities available for sale totaled $236.6 million.
Hutchinson Technology currently plans to report its results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year on November 4, 2002, after market close, and will provide further information on its fourth quarter performance and fiscal 2003 first quarter outlook at that time.
In its fiscal 2001 fourth quarter, the company reported a net loss of $32,570,000, or $1.30 per diluted share, on net sales of $95,078,000. The net loss for the period included a pre-tax charge to earnings of $25,511,000, or $.87 per diluted share, related to write-downs of certain assets and severance costs.
Hutchinson Technology, founded in 1965, is the leading worldwide supplier of suspension assemblies for disk drives. Hutchinson Technology's BioMeasurement Division provides health professionals with simple, accurate methods to measure the oxygen in tissue.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements regarding the company's results of operations and improved operating performance. The company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties. The company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of changes in demand, our ability to produce suspension assemblies at higher demand levels and other factors described from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
