Q2 "one of the most challenging ever" for WD
Swift action and a solid business model, said Western Digital executives on their earnings call Wednesday, were the only things that kept last quarter from being even worse than it might have been in the face of prevailing conditions.
On their Q1 call back in October, WD execs dialed back their guidance for the next quarter to anticipate 5% growth. It was the right idea -- historical norms for the are in the 7-10% range -- but it wasn't enough. WD in fact showed a 14% decline in hard-drive revenue from Q1 to Q2. Revenue for the quarter was $1.8 billion, down 17% year-over-year. Net income totaled $14 million, or 6 cents/share. Non-GAAP net income was $123 million, or 55 cents/share; that reflects charges related to the restructuring the company announced on December 17.
Gadgets up, computers down: The quarter saw sequential declines in desktop, notebook, and enterprise-level SATA drives, including the first decline in 2.5" notebook drives since WD got into that line back in 2004. On the other hand, according to president and CEO John Coyne, the company's pretty sure it shipped more 500GB 2.5-inch drives than the next five competitors combined. Sales were up for branded drives and for drives to be used in consumer gear such as DVRs.
Shipments of all WD HDDs totaled 35.5 million units, up 4% year-over-year but down 10% sequentially.