Hard disk drives manufacturer Seagate Technology has reported a revenue of $3.73bn for the fiscal first quarter ended 28 September 2012, compared to $2.81bn for the same period in 2011.
The company’s net income increased to $582m, or $1.42 diluted earnings per share, for the quarter,compared to $140m, or $0.32 diluted earnings per share, for the same period last year.
In December last year, Seagate had acquired the hard disk drive business (HDD) of South Korean Samsung Electronics and in August this year, it acquired 64.5% of the outstanding shares of LaCie.
The company said that operating expenses in the first quarter rose to $3.11bn due partly to the acquisition of LaCie and the Samsung HDD business as well as the reversal of previously accrued litigation costs.
During the quarter, Seagate shipped 57.6 million hard drives, down from 66 million in the April-June quarter and generated approximately $1.1bn in cash from operations.
Seagate chairman and chief executive officer Steve Luczo said: "Seagate continues to adapt to dynamic industry conditions, managing inventory and demand with our customers while maintaining investments in our technology portfolio that will position us for continued success in the marketplace over the long-term."
Seagate said that due to its high exposure to Europe it expects demand from enterprise customers to remain weak and tablets are likely to lengthen the refresh cycle for notebook computers.
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Steve Luczo blamed the weak business spending in Europe; economic slowdowns in Brazil, Russia, India and China and caution among US companies led to missing its target.
The company also projects gloomy picture for the current-quarter demand, expecting to record about $3.5bn revenue this quarter
"The issue is not pricing of systems. The issue is macroeconomic conditions," Mr. Luczo said.
