Western Digital Net Drops 33%

Western Digital Corp. said its earnings fell 33% in the latest quarter as the biggest maker of computer disk drives affirmed the preliminary results its released last week.

The Irvine, Calif., company also unveiled last week a $19 billion deal for memory-chip maker SanDisk Corp., a key supplier of memory devices for smartphones that is charging into Western Digital's traditional business of supplying computer makers. The deal would make Western Digital the broadest supplier of data-storage components-and likely fuel new pricing pressure in the storage market.

The deal is a part of a consolidation trend among microchip makers and their equipment suppliers amid challenges from slower growth, rising competition and technology shifts across the electronics sector.

For the period ended Oct. 2, Western Digital reported a profit of $283 million, or $1.21 a share, down from $423 million, or $1.76 a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, per-share earnings fell to $1.56 from $2.10. Revenue decreased 15% to $3.36 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of $1.56 and revenue of 3.32 billion.

Gross margin fell to 28.4% from 29.1%.

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October 28, 2015 17:25 ET (21:25 GMT)

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