Western Digital Corp Beats Q1 Views; Net Slips 14.5%

Western Digital Corp.

beat fiscal first-quarter expectations and said supply and demand in its industry are stable. The Irvine, Calif., hard-drive manufacturer posted a 14.5 percent decline in net income on revenue growth of 3.7 percent. Western's shares slipped 0.5 percent in the extended session recently to $92.56 a share. Chief Executive Steven Miller said the company's client and branded products businesses were seasonally strong "and our performance enterprise business was steady." Free cash flow grew to $667 million, from $544 million a year earlier. But net income fell to $423 million, or $1.76 a share, from $495 million, or $2.05 a share a year ago, even as adjusted income grew to $2.10 a share, from $2.05. The company posted revenue of $3.94 million, up from $3.8 million last year. Analysts expected adjusted earnings of $2.03 a share on revenue of $3.89 billion.