Western Digital recovering faster than expected after floods
updated 06:45 am EST, Fri December 2, 2011
WD boosts sales forecasts for December quarter
Western Digital has said that due to the dedication of its teams, it is recovering faster from the devastating floods in Thailand that have seriously constrained worldwide supplies of hard drives. In response, the company has raised its revenue forecasts to $1.8 billion for the December quarter, according to Bloomberg. After the floods had occurred, the company’s early estimates in October had only forecast sales of $1.25 billion for the period.
“The passion, perseverance, ingenuity and execution exhibited by the WD team has been extraordinary and enabled us to make substantial progress in partially restoring our operations in Thailand, well in advance of our earliest expectations when the floods hit,” CEO John Coyne said.
“Much work remains to be done, but we couldn’t be more pleased.”
The company relies on Thailand for 60 percent of its total hard drive production, but expects to be able to boost its total output due to its planned acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. It estimated that, even after insurance claims, it will have lost between $225 and $275 million as a direct effect of the flooding.
