Western Digital Rises After CEO Says Outlook Improves
Bloomberg News
December 1, 1998, 4:10 p.m. PT
Phoenix, Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Western Digital shares rose
37 percent after the company's chairman told some investors at a
conference that the outlook for its products was improving.
Chief Executive Chuck Haggerty told an audience of selected
investors at the CS First Boston Technology Conference in Phoenix
that the company's inventories have been whittled down and it is
increasing its market share with personal computer makers.
Haggerty also said Western Digital will ship products using
International Business Machines Corp. technology earlier than
expected.
The shares of Western Digital, the third-largest independent
computer disk-drive maker, rose 4 13/16 to 17 7/8. Other disk
drive makers also rose, with No. 1 Seagate Technology Inc., which
didn't present at the conference, rising 2 1/4 to 31 3/4. Quantum
Corp. rose 1 3/4 to 23 7/8. Quantum gave a presentation at the
conference earlier today.
Not all investors were invited to the conference, and only a
handful of journalists were permitted to attend. Bloomberg News
and other wire services were barred from attending the
presentations.
''I am a little upset. There is a real problem here if they
exclude people,'' said Jerry Dodson of the Parnassus Fund, which
is the 10th-largest shareholder of Western Digital. He wasn't
invited to the conference. ''They should have told us they were
going to make an announcement. This gives preference to First
Boston customers.''
CS First Boston said it only invited a few news
organizations because some of the companies said they wouldn't be
as open if there were reporters in the presentation.
Cheryl Popp, spokeswoman for CSFB, said she ''surmised the
reason why'' wire services weren't invited to the conference is
because the presenting ''CEOs want to get their information to
investors like Fidelity before it goes to the wires.''
''With the wires there, people are not as open as they would
be otherwise,'' Popp said.
Western Digital's CEO also said he is comfortable with
analysts estimates for a loss of $1.01 a share in the fiscal
second quarter ending in December.
''We're comfortable with where things are at now,'' Haggerty
said.
Western Digital, along with other disk-drive makers, has
struggled with excess inventory, falling prices and accelerating
changes in technology. |
