Western Digital Profit Down On Weak PC Sales, But Tops View

(RTTNews) - Western Digital Corp. (WDC) on Wednesday reported a drop in profit for the fourth quarter as revenues continued to decline due to a weak PC market. Nevertheless, shares of the hard disk drive maker rose 5 percent after its fourth-quarter profit topped analysts' estimates.

Irvine, California-based Western Digital's fourth-quarter profit dropped to $220 million or $0.94 per share from $317 million or $1.32 per share last year.

On an adjusted basis, profit for the quarter decreased to $356 million or $1.51 per share from $445 million or $1.85 per share last year. On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of of $1.45 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Western Digital's revenues for the fourth quarter dropped to $3.19 billion from $3.65 billion a year ago. Analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $3.25 billion for the quarter.

Western Digital, which is popular for its hard drives, has been affected lately by the sluggish sales of PCs.

Commenting on the results, CEO Steve Milligan said, "Our financial performance reflects our strong product and technology positioning coupled with solid execution. We remain positive about the opportunity to create long term value in the evolving storage ecosystem."

WDC closed Wednesday's trading at $78.75, up $1.01 or 1.30%, on the NYSE. The stock further gained $4.25 or 5.40%, in the after-hours trade.