Seagate's fiscal 4Q disappoints, shares drop

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Hard disk drive maker Seagate Technology said Monday that its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue jumped. But they still missed Wall Street expectations, and Seagate shares fell about 8 percent in after-hours trading.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company earned $1.01 billion, or $2.37 per share, in the April-through-June period. That's up from $119 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time charges, it earned $2.41 per share in the most recent quarter.

Seagate's revenue rose 57 percent to $4.48 billion from $2.86 billion.

Analysts expected earnings of $2.50 per share on revenue of $4.55 billion for the period, according to FactSet.

Seagate blamed the shortfall on supplier problems. It warned investors earlier this month that its revenue wouldn't meet forecasts because it shipped fewer hard drives than expected, as the industry bounced back from flooding in Thailand at the end of 2011.

The company earned $2.86 billion, or $6.49 per share, for its full fiscal year. It earned $6.75 on an adjusted basis. That compares with $511 million, or $1.09 per share, in the prior year. Revenue increased to $14.94 billion from $10.97 billion.

Seagate also announced that Gary Gentry has rejoined the company and will serve as senior vice president of its solid state drive business. Gentry left the company in 2005 after serving in various management positions. He worked most recently as head of solid state drive business for Micron Corp.

Seagate shares fell $2.43, or 8 percent, to $28 in after-hours trading. The stock rose 42 cents to close at $30.43 in the regular session.