IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) today reported revenue of $2.475 billion, hard-drive unit shipments of 52.2 million and net income of $225 million, or $0.96 per share, for its second fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported revenue of $2.619 billion, shipped 49.5 million hard drives, and reported net income and earnings per share of $429 million and $1.85, respectively.

The company generated $505 million in cash from operations during the December quarter, ending with total cash and cash equivalents of $3.1 billion.

"We are pleased to deliver better-than-expected revenues, profitability and gross margin in the December quarter, reflecting solid execution and an improvement in hard drive industry conditions compared with the prior two quarters," said John Coyne, president and chief executive officer. "The opportunity for profitable growth in our industry remains tremendous and we are committed to improving our financial performance over the longer term. We plan to do so with a continued emphasis on our industry-leading low-cost structure, high quality, highly reliable and highly available products, and a sharp focus on matching production with true customer demand."

The investment community conference call to discuss these results will be broadcast live over the Internet today at 3 p.m. PST/6 p.m. EST. The call will be accessible live and on an archived basis via the link below. The company is publishing an expanded investor summary sheet today on the investor relations section of its Web site. After the conclusion of today's webcast conference call, the summary sheet will be updated to reflect the company's guidance.


    Audio webcast:       www.westerndigital.com/investor
                         Click on "Conference Calls"
    Telephone replay:     888-568-0891 (toll free)
                         +1-402-998-1567 (international)

About WD

WD, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users' data accessible and secure from loss. Its advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and media products.

WD was founded in 1970. The company's storage products are marketed to leading OEMs, systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital® and WD brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company's Web site (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning opportunities for growth in the industry and WD's financial performance. The foregoing forward-looking statements are based on WD's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including: the impact of continued uncertainty and volatility in global economic conditions; supply and demand conditions in the hard drive industry; actions by competitors; unexpected advances in competing technologies; uncertainties related to the development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; business conditions and growth in the various hard drive markets; pricing trends and fluctuations in average selling prices; changes in the availability and cost of commodity materials and specialized product components that WD does not make internally; and other risks and uncertainties listed in WD's recent Form 10-Q filed with the SEC Oct. 29, 2010, to which your attention is directed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and WD undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Western Digital, WD, and the WD logo are registered trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

                WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION

           CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

                  (in millions; unaudited)

                                      Dec. 31,      Jul. 2,
                                          2010         2010
                                          ----         ----

                              ASSETS

    Current assets:
      Cash and cash equivalents         $3,110       $2,734
      Accounts receivable, net           1,250        1,256
      Inventories                          568          560
      Other                                192          170
                                           ---          ---
        Total current assets             5,120        4,720
    Property and equipment, net          2,277        2,159
    Goodwill                               151          146
    Other intangible assets, net            79           88
    Other assets                           216          215
                                           ---          ---
        Total assets                    $7,843       $7,328



             LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

    Current liabilities:
      Accounts payable                  $1,628       $1,507
      Accrued expenses                     262          281
      Accrued warranty                     135          129
      Current portion of long-term
       debt                                119          106
                                           ---          ---
        Total current liabilities        2,144        2,023
    Long-term debt                         231          294
    Other liabilities                      309          302
                                           ---          ---
        Total liabilities                2,684        2,619
    Shareholders' equity                 5,159        4,709
                                         -----        -----
        Total liabilities and
         shareholders' equity           $7,843       $7,328
                                        ======       ======

                        WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION

                CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

                  (in millions, except per share amounts)
                                (unaudited)


                             Three Months Ended       Six Months Ended
                             ------------------       ----------------
                           Dec. 31,       Jan. 1,  Dec. 31,       Jan. 1,
                               2010          2010      2010          2010
                               ----          ----      ----          ----

    Revenue, net             $2,475        $2,619    $4,871        $4,827
    Cost of revenue           2,000         1,932     3,959         3,626
                              -----         -----     -----         -----
      Gross margin              475           687       912         1,201
                                ---           ---       ---         -----
    Operating expenses:
      Research and
       development              169           154       336           296
      Selling, general and
       administrative            66            60       125           113
                                ---           ---       ---           ---
        Total operating
         expenses               235           214       461           409
                                ---           ---       ---           ---
    Operating income            240           473       451           792
      Net interest and
       other                     (1)           (2)       (1)           (4)
                                ---           ---       ---           ---
    Income before income
     taxes                      239           471       450           788
      Income tax provision       14            42        28            71
                                ---           ---       ---           ---
    Net income                 $225          $429      $422          $717
                               ====          ====      ====          ====

    Income per common
     share:
      Basic                   $0.98         $1.89     $1.83         $3.17
                              =====         =====     =====         =====
      Diluted                 $0.96         $1.85     $1.80         $3.10
                              =====         =====     =====         =====

    Weighted average
     shares outstanding:
      Basic                     230           227       230           226
                                ===           ===       ===           ===
      Diluted                   235           232       235           231
                                ===           ===       ===           ===

                          WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION

                CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

                            (in millions; unaudited)


                                        Three Months
                                           Ended           Six Months Ended
                                        ------------   ----------------
                                      Dec.       Jan.     Dec.       Jan.
                                       31,         1,      31,         1,
                                      2010       2010     2010       2010
                                      ----       ----     ----       ----

    Cash flows from operating
     activities
    Net income                        $225       $429     $422       $717
    Adjustments to reconcile net
     income to net cash
      provided by operations:
      Depreciation and amortization    151        126      301        247
      Stock-based compensation          18         13       37         27
      Deferred income taxes              1         (5)       1         (5)
      Changes in operating assets
       and liabilities                 110         (6)     134          5
                                       ---        ---      ---        ---
        Net cash provided by
         operating activities          505        557      895        991
                                       ---        ---      ---        ---
    Cash flows from investing
     activities
    Purchases of property and
     equipment                        (250)      (199)    (450)      (375)
    Sales and maturities of
     investments                         -          3        -          3
                                       ---        ---      ---        ---
        Net cash used in investing
         activities                   (250)      (196)    (450)      (372)
                                      ----       ----     ----       ----
    Cash flows from financing
     activities
    Employee stock plans, net           22         37       31         60
    Repurchases of common stock          -          -      (50)         -
    Repayment of long-term debt        (25)       (19)     (50)       (38)
                                       ---        ---      ---        ---
        Net cash provided by (used
         in) financing activities       (3)        18      (69)        22
                                       ---        ---      ---        ---
    Net increase in cash and cash
     equivalents                       252        379      376        641
    Cash and cash equivalents,
     beginning of period             2,858      2,056    2,734      1,794
                                     -----      -----    -----      -----
    Cash and cash equivalents,
     end of period                  $3,110     $2,435   $3,110     $2,435
                                    ======     ======   ======     ======

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SOURCE Western Digital Corp.