Summary
Western Digital Corporation (WDC) announced a significant capital allocation plan on September 13, 2012. The Board of Directors approved an additional $1.5 billion for share repurchases, extending the program through September 2017. Concurrently, the company is initiating a quarterly cash dividend policy, with the first dividend of $0.25 per share declared for the quarter ending September 28, 2012. In addition to the capital return initiatives, WDC provided updated guidance for the September 2012 quarter. The company now forecasts lower revenue, expecting the total available market for hard drives to be approximately 140 million units, down from the previous forecast of 157 million units. Consequently, revenue is now projected to be between $3.9 billion and $4.0 billion, a decrease from the prior expectation of $4.2 billion to $4.3 billion. Despite the revenue revision, WDC maintained its gross margin estimate at approximately 30% on a non-GAAP basis and reiterated its fiscal year 2013 non-GAAP EPS target of $10.
Key Highlights
- 1Western Digital (WDC) announced a new capital allocation plan.
- 2The company authorized an additional $1.5 billion for share repurchases, valid until September 2017.
- 3WDC is initiating a regular quarterly cash dividend policy.
- 4The first quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share was declared, payable in October 2012.
- 5WDC revised its September 2012 quarter revenue forecast downwards to $3.9-$4.0 billion due to lower industry demand and inventory rebalancing.
- 6The company maintained its non-GAAP gross margin estimate of approximately 30% for the September quarter.
- 7WDC reiterated its fiscal year 2013 non-GAAP earnings per share target of $10.