Western Digital Profit Triples in 2nd Quarter
Western Digital Corp., a maker of disk drives used in personal computers and video-game consoles, said second-quarter profit more than tripled on stable sales.
The Lake Forest company earned $12.7 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with $3.58 million, or 2 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Sales rose 2.3% to $574.7 million.
The company said last month that it benefited from improved PC sales and from Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox video-game console, which uses its drives.
Western Digital increased its financial projections for the current quarter. Sales should total $550 million to $575million, up from $495million projected by analysts. The company should post a profit of $5million to $9million, or 3 cents to 4 cents a share, Chief Financial Officer Scott Mercer said.
Shares rose 6 cents to $7.11 on the New York Stock Exchange before the earnings were released.
In other earnings news:
* Wireless technology developer Universal Electronics Inc. in Cypress reported fourth-quarter net income of $3.6 million, or 25 cents a share, down 25% from $4.8 million, or 33 cents a share, a year ago. Sales declined 28% to $27.9 million.
* Irvine-based Exult Inc. narrowed its fourth-quarter net loss to $15.7 million, or 15 cents a share, from $52.5 million, or 60 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed to $89.4 million from $32 million.
* Temporary staffing firm RemedyTemp Inc. in Aliso Viejo reported that its fiscal first-quarter net income dropped to $692,000, or 8 cents a share, from $2.9 million, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier. Net income a year ago included a charge of $1.9 million. Revenue declined 23% to $114.8 million.
* California First National Bancorp, a Santa Ana bank holding company, reported net earnings of $3.6 million, or 32 cents a share, for the second fiscal quarter, compared with net earnings of $3.6 million, or 31 cents a share, a year ago.
* Water Pik Technologies Inc. said its fourth-quarter profit rose 16%. The company reported net income of $5.7 million, or 47 cents a share, up from $4.9 million, or 50 cents a share, a year ago. Sales slipped to $81.7 million from $82.1 million.
