The Dow Jones story on STX earnings; adds prior expectations numbers. The stock is trading up AH, but what is said in the CC will be the deciding factor as to where the stock goes tomorrow.
Seagate Technology Swings To 3Q Profit On Record Shipments
04/20 04:17 PM
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Seagate Technology Inc. (STX:$19.33,00$0.24,001.26%) swung to a fiscal third-quarter profit on record unit shipments and sharply higher margins amid strong demand for its products.
Shares gained 1.4% to $19.60 in after-hours trading as the computer disk-drive maker's earnings topped expectations, and its revenue was near the high end of its raised forecast. The stock has soared from its all-time low of nearly $3 in January 2009.
Seagate (STX:$19.33,00$0.24,001.26%) shipped a record 50.3 million disk-drive units, up 32% from a year earlier. "Demand for Seagate (STX:$19.33,00$0.24,001.26%) products remains very strong and we expect to see tight supply throughout the remainder of the calendar year," said Chief Executive Steve Luczo.
The world's largest hard-drive maker by sales has been boosting capacity to keep up with a strong rebound in demand in recent months. The disk-drive business is known for razor-thin margins and excess capacity, but tight supplies are expected to help boost prices and margins at the company.
For the quarter ended April 2, historically the slowest quarter of the year, Seagate (STX:$19.33,00$0.24,001.26%) reported a profit of $518 million, or $1 a share, compared with a year- earlier loss of $275 million, or 56 cents a share. The latest results included 3 cents in charges.
Revenue climbed 42% to $3.05 billion.
In January, Seagate (STX:$19.33,00$0.24,001.26%) predicted earnings of 88 cents to 92 cents on revenue of $ 2.9 billion to $3.1 billion, above analysts' then-estimates.
Gross margin rose to 29.6% from 7.3%, exceeding the company's long-term model of 22% to 26%.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; kathy.shwiff@dowjones.com |
