Western Digital Corp., the third-largest U.S. computer disk-drive maker, said Thursday that fiscal second-quarter profit rose 86%. Its shares climbed after the company said earnings this quarter might exceed analysts' estimates.
Net income increased to $104.3 million, or 47 cents a share, in the quarter ended Dec. 30 from $56 million, or 26 cents, a year earlier, the Lake Forest-based company said. Sales gained 17% to $1.12 billion.
The company is poised to win orders from computer and consumer electronics makers seeking a second disk-drive supplier after industry leader Seagate Technology completes its buyout of No. 2 Maxtor Corp., said Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Les Santiago in San Francisco.
Analysts on average expected profit of 37 cents a share on sales of $1.06 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.
