Seagate: Fiscal 4Q09 Financial Results

Seagate Technology reported results for the quarter ended July 3, 2009 of 40.6 million disk drive unit shipments, revenue of $2.35 billion, a net loss of $81 million and net loss per share of $0.16. The financial results for the quarter include $21 million of purchased intangibles amortization and other charges associated with acquisitions, and $85 million of restructuring and related accelerated depreciation charges. The aggregate impact of these items is $106 million or approximately $0.22 per share.

"The overall organizational, operational, technical and product progress we have made during the last six months is reflected in our financial results for the June quarter and demonstrates meaningful progress toward the goal of returning to sustained GAAP profitability as soon as possible," said Steve Luczo, Seagate CEO. "We are also seeing signs that the storage markets are improving and are providing better visibility into the demand environment. Our approach to the September quarter with respect to our production volumes and product mix is to continue to manage our factories with an intense focus on maximizing our return on invested capital while satisfying our customers’ requirements."

For the fiscal year ended July 3, 2009, the company reported disk drive unit shipments of 163.8 million, revenue of $9.8 billion, a net loss of $3.1 billion, and net loss per share of $6.32. The financial results for the fiscal year include $77 million of purchased intangibles amortization and other charges associated with acquisitions, charges related to restructuring activities of $266 million, a charge of $271 million that reflects an unfavorable adjustment to the valuation allowance related to the company’s deferred tax assets and a $2.3 billion charge relating to the write-off of goodwill and other long-lived assets. The aggregate impact of these items is a $2.9 billion reduction in earnings, or a decrease of approximately $5.95 per share. Of the $266 million in restructuring related charges, $56 million was for accelerated depreciation charges, with $30 million recorded in cost of revenue and $26 million in product development expense. The majority of the remaining balance of the restructuring charges relate to global headcount reductions.

Business Outlook
While there are signs of improved visibility, the ongoing uncertainty in global economic conditions makes it difficult to predict product demand and other related matters, which makes it more likely that Seagate’s actual results could differ materially from current expectations.

For the September quarter, the company is planning for the overall industry demand for disk drives to be 135-140 million units. Consequently, the company expects revenue to be approximately $2.4 – $2.6 billion and gross margin as a percent of revenue to improve by 200-350 basis points as compared to the June quarter. Product development and marketing/administrative costs are expected to decrease to approximately $315 million while other income and expense is expected to be a charge of approximately $40 million.

The September quarter outlook does not include the impact of any potential new restructuring activities, future mergers, acquisitions, financing, dispositions or other business combinations the company may undertake.