Seagate posts 2nd-quarter profit, higher sales

Seagate posts 2Q profit, higher sales

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — Hard disk drive maker Seagate Technology posted a second-quarter profit Wednesday following cost cuts and improved holiday sales.

For the three months ended Jan. 1, the company earned $533 million, or $1.03 per share, compared with a loss of $2.27 billion, or $5.80 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 33 percent to $3.02 billion from $2.27 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 65 cents per share on sales of $2.85 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Shares slide 2 percent to $17.76 before Seagate reported earnings as the market closed. In aftermarket trading, shares jumped nearly 7 percent, or $1.19, to $18.95.

CEO Steve Luczo said operational efficiencies, along with an improved mix of products and overall strong demand for digital storage helped drive the quarter’s results.

Seagate posted operating costs of $2.45 billion in the latest quarter, compared with $4.74 billion a year earlier.

Shares slid 1 cent in after-hours trading to $17.75. The stock had closed down 40 cents, or 2.2 percent, at $17.76.