Western Digital Reports Slighter Loss Than Forecast

Western Digital Corp., long-struggling maker of computer disk drives, said its fiscal third-quarter loss was narrower than expected as the Lake Forest company reined in expenses and improved inventory management.

The loss was $7 million to $10 million, or 4 cents to 6 cents a share, on revenue of about $530 million in the quarter ended March 30, Western Digital said. In January, the company forecast a loss of $13 million to $17 million, or 7 cents to 10 cents, on revenue of “no less than” $500 million.

Western Digital’s disk-drive unit generated a profit of $6 million to $8 million as it sold more high-speed drives, spokesman Steve Shattuck said. Performance by units that make personal video recorders, data storage products and supply chain software resulted in a loss for Western Digital, he said.

The company is one of the few makers of personal-computer parts to say financial results beat estimates this year. Intel Corp., Gateway Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and other companies that rely on PC demand have had to lower forecasts.

Western Digital was expected to lose 8 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial.

Western Digital will report fiscal third-quarter results on April 26.

The announcement came after the close of regular trading hours for U.S. markets. Western Digital’s stock rose 4 cents a share to $4.04 on the New York Stock Exchange.