Western Digital Loss Narrows as Sales Rise

Disk-drive manufacturer Western Digital Corp., facing price wars and component shortages, posted a loss of $33.5 million, or 23 cents a share, for the fiscal first quarter.

The Irvine company struggled through a “challenging” quarter, acknowledged Matt Massengill, president and chief executive officer. But results were in line with expectations, he added.

The loss was after an extraordinary gain of $11.2 million, or 7 cents a share, from redeeming debentures for common stock. A year ago, the company posted a loss of $106.3 million, or $1.11 a share.

Revenue rose 8% to $440.2 million.

The company is experiencing strong seasonal demand for desktop drives in the current quarter but continues to be plagued by a shortage of components, Massengill said.