Western Digital Revenue Rises 63% to Record Level for Quarter

IRVINE —  Western Digital Corp. on Wednesday reported record revenue for its latest quarter, a pleasant surprise to Wall Street analysts who had expected sales of the company’s computer products to be slow during the summer.

“We had strong profitability in both our microcomputer and our disk drive business,” said Chuck Haggerty, Western Digital’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. Microcomputer sales had lagged during the same quarter last year.

In addition, the company saw a surge of sales in Europe. “So many European customers close up in the summer, but this year sales were great,” Haggerty said.

The Irvine-based company said its revenue totaled $464.4 million for the first fiscal quarter, which ended Oct. 1. That was a 63% increase over revenue of $285.5 million for the same period a year earlier.

Profit was $34.7 million, or 70 cents a share. That contrasted with a loss of $5.1 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts cited an unusual confluence of positive factors.

“New products and the mix of products are better than last year,” said Roxanne Googin, an analyst with the brokerage Gruntal & Co. in Los Angeles. “And they have been able to manufacture them more quickly than the competition without overproducing.”

Western Digital’s stock, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at $16.75 a share Wednesday, up $1.

Strong Profitability

For the quarter ended Oct. 1, Western Digital reported revenue of $464.6 million, a 63% increase from the same period a year earlier. Profit totaled $34.7 million, contrasted with a loss of $5.1 million a year earlier. Figures in millions of dollars except data per share:

Percent 1994 1995 change Total revenue $285.5 $464.6 63.0 Net earnings (5.1) 34.7 N/A Earnings per share ($.14) $.70 N/A

N/A: Not applicable

Source: Western Digital; Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times