Western Digital: Fiscal 4Q Earnings Snapshot

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ Western Digital Corp. (WDC) on Wednesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $148 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

The San Jose, California-based company said it had profit of 49 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.23 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.20 per share.

The maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computers posted revenue of $4.29 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.35 billion.

For the year, the company reported that its loss narrowed to $250 million, or 84 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $16.74 billion.

For the current quarter ending in October, Western Digital expects its per-share earnings to range from 45 cents to 65 cents. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.20.

The company said it expects revenue in the range of $3.7 billion to $3.9 billion for the fiscal first quarter. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $4.29 billion.

Western Digital shares have declined 30% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 3%. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $44.47, a decline of 16% in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on WDC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/WDC