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Technology Stocks : Read-Rite -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CPAMarty who wrote (4783)	6/29/1999 10:50:00 AM
From: Mark Oliver	Respond to of 5058

<I think that i will wait - RDRT will probably warn like the drive companies have. > Seems so obvious that RDRT will warn and yet the market is not really running for cover. Curious. It was just 6 weeks ago RDRT announced again the leading areal density lead. At what stage do they take this into a money making position. We get the feeling they don;t have what it takes to compete with TDK and ALPS. Why not? When does this technology hit some useful stage. Regards, Mark

To: CPAMarty who wrote (4783)	6/29/1999 11:41:00 AM
From: Winegrower	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5058

how long is the quite period before earnings annoucements. RDRT annouces on the 14th of July. If no annoucement soon rdrt may drift up to earnings

To: CPAMarty who wrote (4783)	7/23/1999 6:33:00 PM
From: Alain Dubreuil	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5058

Analysis from Value Line rated 4 on a scale 1-5 Fiscal 1999 is shaping up as a disappointing year for Read-Rite. (The accounting period ends October 3rd.) The company raised investors' hopes when it posted a narrow profit in the year's first quarter. However, the red ink returned in the March and June periods, and likely will continue to flow in the closing quarter. Demand has held up well, but average selling prices have fallen sharply owing to the competitive industry conditions. These conditions will likely persist through the end of the fiscal year, so we now expect the company to lose $2.25 a share for the year as a whole. Given the weak business environment, Read-Rite is restructuring to increase efficiency and to align operations with market conditions. It has reduced the work force by roughly 2,500 employees and it is consolidating certain operations. (A one-time charge of $29.9 million in connection with the restructuring and a $19.5 million tax benefit that were booked in the June interim are excluded from our earnings presentation.) The company may return to profitability in fiscal 2000. The restructuring will trim expenses. Too, Read-Rite is making good progress in moving to next-generation Giant Magnetoresistive technology. That's important, because in this field a company must stay at the forefront of technology if it is to succeed. On the negative side, though, Read-Rite could lose some Western Digital business to IBM, but that may well be offset by new business from Quantum now that the latter company has exited the head manufacturing field. Only the most intrepid should consider these untimely shares. Recovery potential by 2002-2004 is wide, but earnings predictability is very low. Too, three customers accounted for 88% of Read-Rite's sales in the first half of fiscal '99. That narrow customer base adds risk to our forecast. Finally, the company is the subject of several lawsuits. Any adverse decision could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition. George A. Niemond July 23, 1999 Alain Dubreuil