Struggling Seagate Technology Inc has reported another staggering loss, this time at $128.5m for its fiscal third quarter. The bottom line was hit hard by $165.7m in one-time charges. Of that total, $141.9m came in the form of restructuring charges – $53m alone in employee termination benefits. Revenue slid 33% to $1.68bn, as increased competition, price cuts and falling demand for its disk drives hit the Scotts Valley, California company hard. OEM sales as a percentage of the total fell 3%. The geographic mix shifted slightly, with North American sales rising 4% while Europe fell the same amount and Asia-Pacific remained flat. The loss compares to net income of $256.8m, or $1.01 per share, a year ago. Seagate has been taking measures to make itself more competitive by closing plants, cutting staff and consolidating operations where it can (CI No 3,327). The company says its headcount is now at 87,000, down from 101,500 last quarter. It proudly points out that it still managed to ship the same number of drives this quarter (7.3 million), meaning that it has become more efficient. Net of the charges, the loss for the quarter still would have been $0.10 per share, a penny more than Wall Street was expecting. Nine-month net loss was $551.9m on revenue down 24.7% at $5.24bn, compared to net income of $598.7m, or $2.38 per share, last year.
