Western Digital Posts 1Q Profit Increase

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) — Disk drive maker Western Digital Corp. is cashing in on the rising popularity of social media with its fiscal first-quarter profit surging on rising demand for hard drives.

Net income of $288 million, or $1.25 per share, was up 36 percent from $211 million, or 93 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

The results widely beat Wall Street expectations. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 94 cents per share.

Revenue for the quarter ended Oct. 2 was $2.2 billion, up 5 percent from $2.1 billion in the year-ago period.

John Coyne, president and CEO, said demand is being driven primarily by the "growing social media phenomenon."

That in turn is sparking demand in mobile and desktop PCs, branded products and enterprise storage, he said.

The Lake Forest, Calif., company said it shipped a record 44.1 million hard drives in the quarter, up from 39.4 million in last year's fiscal first quarter.

Shares rose 29 cents to $37.40 in aftermarket trading. In regular trading, the stock closed up $1.25 or, 3.5 percent, at $37.11.