View:
Download DOC
Download PDF
Download XLS
Western Digital Corp. Form 8-K December 20, 2001
Table of Contents

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): December 20, 2001

WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
         
Delaware   1-08703   33-0956711
(State or Other Jurisdiction
of Incorporation)		   (Commission
File Number) 		  (IRS Employer
Identification No.)
     
20511 Lake Forest Drive    
Lake Forest, California   92630
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)
     
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:   (949) 672-7000

Not Applicable
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT
Item 5. Other Events.
Item 7. Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and Exhibits.
SIGNATURE
EXHIBIT INDEX
EXHIBIT 99.1

Table of Contents

INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT

Item 5. Other Events.

         On December 20, 2001, Western Digital issued a press release announcing that revenues, units and profitablity for its second second fiscal quarter ending December 28, 2001 are expected to exceed its earlier guidance. In addition, Western Digital announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Fujitsu (Thailand) Company Ltd. to purchase a 155,000-square foot hard drive and head stack assembly facility near Bangkok, Thailand. Attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated by reference herein is a copy of the December 20, 2001 press release.

Item 7. Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and Exhibits.

     
Exhibit   Description
 
99.1   Press Release dated December 20, 2001.

SIGNATURE

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

         
Date: January 17, 2002        
 
    WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
 
     
 
    By:   /s/ Michael A. Cornelius
        Michael A. Cornelius
        Vice President, Law and
Administration and Secretary
 

2

Table of Contents

EXHIBIT INDEX

     
Exhibit No.   Document
 
Exhibit 99.1   Press Release issued December 20, 2001.
 

3 


                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1


WESTERN DIGITAL ANNOUNCES Q2 REVENUE, UNITS, EPS WILL EXCEED GUIDANCE;
$14 MILLION OPERATING PROFIT EXPECTED FROM HDD BUSINESS


TO INCREASE COST EFFICIENCIES AND MAINTAIN MANUFACTURING FLEXIBILITY, COMPANY
SIGNS AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE THAILAND FACILITY FROM FUJITSU

LAKE FOREST, Calif. -- Dec. 20, 2001 -- Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) today
announced that revenue, unit shipments and profitability for its second fiscal
quarter ending December 28, 2001 are expected to exceed its earlier guidance.

The Company expects Q2 revenue in the range of $540 million to $550 million on
unit shipments of approximately 7.5 million. Earnings per share are expected to
be approximately $.04 -- the Company's first profit on a consolidated basis
excluding non-recurring items since the quarter ending December 1998. Western
Digital had earlier said it would post revenue in the range of $490 million to
$520 million on unit shipments of 6 million to 6.5 million, and would break even
or report a profit of $.01 per share for the quarter. In the year-ago period,
the Company reported revenue of $562 million on unit shipments of 6.1 million
and a loss of $.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items.

The anticipated Q2 results include an operating profit of approximately $14
million from the hard drive business, compared with an operating profit of $12
million in the second quarter of fiscal 2001 and $4 million in the first quarter
of fiscal 2002.(1)

The Company will announce its final results for the second fiscal quarter after
the market closes on January 24, 2002.

"Better-than-expected demand for WD hard drives from all our channels in the PC
industry underscored the strengths of our product portfolio, customer base, and
business model," said Matt Massengill, chairman, chief executive officer and
president of Western Digital. "We had anticipated solid sequential growth this
quarter based on increases in drive shipments to Microsoft for its Xbox gaming
system and from additional volumes caused by Fujitsu's exit from the desktop HDD
business. In addition to these factors, the upside came from the strength of
demand in the PC sector and our ability to meet that demand with our broadened
family of products."

Separately, Western Digital announced it has signed a definitive agreement with
Fujitsu (Thailand) Company Ltd. to purchase a 155,000-square foot hard drive and
head stack assembly facility near Bangkok, Thailand. The transaction, which is
expected to close in January, will include land, building and equipment. The
purchase price was not disclosed and will not be material to Western Digital's
current or future capital expenditures.

"The addition of this facility and its highly-trained HDD and head-stacking
workforce will ensure that our manufacturing model remains highly-focused and
cost efficient, and continues to have the flexibility to quickly shift mix in
response to customer needs," said Arif Shakeel, executive vice president and
chief operating officer of Western Digital. "As we bring on this new capability,
we will maintain Western Digital's operating philosophy

                                       4


of managing build plans to meet existing market demand. At the same time, this
step will help mitigate the potential risks of having all HDD manufacturing
conducted in a single site."

Shakeel indicated that the Thailand facility will complement WD's existing
manufacturing facility in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by providing both head stack
assembly and final assembly of its value line of hard drives. The Thailand
facility will be retrofitted to the Company's processes and quality standards
and is expected to be operational during the March quarter.

1. The prior year results reflect the previously announced restatements for the
adoption of SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101 and reclassification of the
Company's Connex and SANavigator businesses as discontinued operations.

CONFERENCE CALL & WEBCAST:

Live Webcast: Investors can listen to a live webcast of Western Digital's
investment community conference call today at 1:30 pm PST by logging onto the
Conference Call page of the investor relations section of our Web site at the
following address http://199.230.26.96/wdc/confcalls.shtml. An archive of the
webcast will be available at this same location. Dial-in number: 712.271.3216,
Passcode: Western Digital

Telephone Replay: An audio replay of the conference call will be available for
two weeks beginning today at approximately 5:00 pm PST at 402.220.3763.

ABOUT WESTERN DIGITAL

Western Digital, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders,
provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage
and use digital information. The Company's core business produces reliable,
high-performance hard drives that keep users' data close-at-hand and secure from
loss. Applying its data storage core competencies to emerging markets, Western
Digital's new ventures Cameo Technologies, Keen Personal Media and SageTree meet
the increasing demand for innovative information management solutions arising
from the proliferation of Internet and broadband services.

Western Digital was founded in 1970. The Company's storage products are marketed
to leading systems manufacturers and selected resellers under the Western
Digital brand name. Visit the Investor section of the Company's Web site
(www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor
information.

This release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating
to the range of the Company's expected revenue, unit shipments and earnings for
its second fiscal quarter, close of the purchase transaction in Thailand, and
the expected operation of and benefits from the new facility. The forward
looking statements are based on current management expectations, and actual
results may differ materially as a result of several factors, including: the
volume of shipments for the remainder of the quarter; pricing trends;
achievement of operational efficiencies and unit sales growth; overall supply
and

                                       5


customer demand in the hard drive industry; continued leadership in
time-to-market and time-to-volume of our new hard drives; changes in customer
order patterns; successful qualification of our drives with key OEM customers;
business conditions and growth in the computing industry; and other factors
discussed in our recent SEC filings. We undertake no obligation to update
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after
the date of such statements.

                                       ###

Western Digital is a registered trademark of Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
Keen Personal Media and TV4me are trademarks of Keen Personal Media, Inc.
SageTree is a registered trademark of SageTree, Inc. Cameo is a registered
trademark of Cameo Technologies, Inc. All other brand and product names
mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.



                                       6