WD ANNOUNCES Q2 RESULTS - Revenue of $2.0 Billion

[Apoptosis]

WD ANNOUNCES Q2 RESULTS AND OPERATIONS UPDATE, REFLECTING CONTINUED PROGRESS IN FLOOD RECOVERY

IRVINE, Calif.-Jan. 23, 2012-Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) today reported revenue of $2.0 billion, hard-drive unit shipments of 28.5 million and net income of $145 million, or $0.61 per share, for its second fiscal quarter ended Dec. 30, 2011. Excluding charges and expenses related to the Thailand flooding and the planned acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST), non-GAAP net income was $358 million, or $1.51 per share.1 During the quarter, the company incurred charges and expenses of $199 million related to the flooding and expenses of $14 million associated with the planned acquisition of HGST.

In the year-ago quarter, the company reported revenue of $2.5 billion, net income of $225 million, or $0.96 per share, and shipped 52.2 million hard drives.

The company generated $378 million in cash from operations during the December quarter, ending with total cash and cash equivalents of $3.9 billion.
 
Operations Update
The company also announced it has made significant additional progress to restore its manufacturing capacity following the recent flooding in Thailand. It has continued to ramp HDD production in Thailand and yesterday resumed slider production which had been suspended since October 10. The company now believes its manufacturing capacity will be back to pre-flood capabilities in the quarter ending September 2012.

"We have made substantial progress in restoring WD's manufacturing capabilities in the aftermath of the historic flooding in Thailand, and this is reflected in our second quarter financial results and in the resumption of our operations there," said John Coyne, president and chief executive officer. "While much work remains to be done over the next several quarters to reach our pre-flood manufacturing capabilities, the progress thus far is significantly ahead of our original expectations and is a tribute to the dedicated and effective actions of our employees, contractors and Thai government agencies, the efforts of our supply partners and the support of our customers. We are grateful to all involved in this extraordinary effort."

HGST Acquisition
The company's plan to complete the acquisition of HGST is on track to close by March 2012. The company continues to work on obtaining the regulatory approval of the transaction from the remaining government agencies.

Conference Call
The investment community conference call to discuss these results will be broadcast live over the Internet today at 2 p.m. Pacific/5 p.m. Eastern. The live and archived conference call webcast can be accessed online at www.westerndigital.com/investor, click on "Conference Calls." The telephone replay number is 1-866-403-7115 in the U.S. or +1-203-369-0585 for international callers.

About WD
WD, 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 designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users' data accessible and secure from loss. Its advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and home entertainment products.