FYI:
----
The following release was issued today, Wednesday, January 20, 1999 at
1:00pm PST:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
READ-RITE REPORTS FIRST QUARTER FISCAL 1999 RESULTS AND RETURN TO
PROFITABILITY
MILPITAS, CA -- January 20, 1999 -- Read-Rite Corporation (NASDAQ: RDRT)
today announced sales of $230.2 million and net income and diluted net
income per share of $1.1 million and $.02, respectively, for the first
quarter ended December 31, 1998. This compares with sales of $175.9 million
and a net loss and net loss per share of $29.5 million and $.61 per share
for the fourth quarter ended September 30, 1998; and sales of $261.4 million
and a net loss and net loss per share, which included an after-tax charge of
$91.8 million, of $90.9 million and $1.88 for the first quarter ended
December 31, 1997.
Read-Rite experienced very strong sequential growth during the quarter, with
sales increasing 31 percent and HGA unit shipments 46 percent higher than
the previous quarter ended September 30, 1998. Read-Rite continued to
broaden its customer mix, and shipped in volume on a significant number of
customer programs for the 3.2 - 3.4 GB and 4.3 GB per platter hard disk
drive programs. Read-Rite achieved significant gross margin improvement,
despite very competitive pricing pressures, as a result of the company's
continued emphasis on productivity. Gross margin for the first quarter was
$34.9 million or 15.1 percent of sales compared to negative gross margins
throughout fiscal year 1998. The improved financial results during the
quarter demonstrate the effectiveness of the company's focus on its core
objectives: technology leadership, customer satisfaction and productivity
improvement through its operational excellence program.
Read-Rite Corporation is one of the world's leading independent
manufacturers of MR recording heads, head gimbal assemblies (HGAs) and head
stack assemblies (HSAs) for disk drives and magnetoresistive heads for tape
drives. The company is headquartered in Milpitas, California and has
operations in Japan, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore. The company's
home page on the World Wide Web can be reached at readrite.com.
This news release contains statements which include forward-looking
information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, and
is subject to the "safe harbor" created by those sections. These statements
include, but are not limited to: the company's expectation that its focus on
technology leadership, customer satisfaction and productivity improvements
will continue during the fiscal year. The company's actual results for
future periods could differ materially from those projected in such
forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ include, but are not limited to: the company's ability to timely,
effectively and continuously execute on MR and GMR programs; failure to
achieve and maintain acceptable production yields on MR and GMR products;
the company's failure to execute on its objectives of technology leadership,
customer satisfaction and productivity improvements; and the other factors
described in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K
for fiscal 1998. Read-Rite undertakes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring
after the date of such statements. |
