Hard drive maker Western Digital Corp. (WDC) said Thursday after the markets closed that its first quarter profit rose 36% from last year, helped by record shipments of its drives amid strong consumer demand. The company's quarterly earnings per share also breezed past Wall Street expectations as did its quarterly revenue.
The Lake Forest, California-based company reported net income for the first quarter of $288 million or $1.25 per share, compared to $211 million or $0.93 per share for the year-ago quarter.
On average, 18 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.94 per share for the first quarter.
Gross margin for the quarter improved to 23.1% from 19.9% in the prior year quarter.
Net revenue for the first quarter increased 5% to $2.21 billion from $2.11 billion in the same quarter last year. Sixteen analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.06 billion for the first quarter.
First quarter hard drive shipments rose 12% to a record 44.1 million units from 39.4 million units in the first quarter of last year.
"For the second consecutive quarter, demand for hard drives was stronger than expected as the positive industry conditions that materialized in the June quarter continued throughout the September quarter," said John Coyne, Western Digital president and chief executive officer. "We believe this demand is being driven primarily by consumers as a result of the growing social media phenomenon."
The company generated $434 million in cash from operations during the first quarter, ending with total cash and cash equivalents of $2.1 billion.
Western Digital offers hard drives, including 3.5-inch, 2.5-inch, 1.8-inch, and 1.0-inch form factor drives, which are used in desktop computers, notebook computers, enterprise storage, workstations, video surveillance equipment, networking products, digital video recorders, satellite and cable set-top boxes, and external storage appliances.
Earlier this week, larger rival Seagate Technology (STX) reported first quarter profit that more than tripled from last year, as improved margins and lower operating costs offset a 12% revenue drop and other charges. The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations. The company provided a second quarter revenue forecast range, the mid-point of which was above analysts' estimate.
Western Digital shares, which have traded in a range of $9.48 to $38.55 over the past year, closed Thursday's regular trading session at $37.11, up $1.25 or 3.49% and gained an additional penny in after hours trading.
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