Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) (the “Company” or “Seagate”) today reported financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2016 ended April 1, 2016. For the third quarter, the Company reported revenue of approximately $2.6 billion, gross margin of 20.2%, net loss of $21 million and diluted loss per share of $0.07. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes the net impact of certain items, Seagate reported gross margin of 22.7%, net income of $66 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.22. For a detailed reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results, see the accompanying financial tables.
During the third quarter, the Company generated approximately $205 million in operating cash flow and paid cash dividends of $188 million. There were 298 million ordinary shares issued and outstanding as of the end of the quarter. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled approximately $1.2 billion at the end of the quarter.
“Our quarterly results fell short of our expectations as a result of several near-term demand factors. Despite these challenges, we believe we have the product portfolio, technology roadmap and operational leverage to ensure we are well-positioned for long-term success,” said Steve Luczo, Seagate’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Accordingly, we are aggressively working to position Seagate to respond to new demand levels and are committed to ongoing financial discipline.”
Luczo continued, “Although the short-term dynamics of our industry are challenging, we continue to see significant and growing Exabyte demand, particularly as enterprise applications shift to cloud environments. As we look forward, our strategic focus is unchanged -- we are broadening our storage portfolio to meet the needs of our growing global customer base, building upon our strong competitive position and optimizing our business for continued financial performance. These focus areas will enable us to build lasting value for shareholders.”
Seagate has issued a Supplemental Financial Information document, which is available on Seagate’s Investors website at www.seagate.com/investors.
Quarterly Cash Dividend
The Company’s Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.63 per share, which will be payable on May 24, 2016 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 10, 2016. The payment of any future quarterly dividends will be at the discretion of the Board and will be dependent upon Seagate’s financial position, results of operations, available cash, cash flow, capital requirements and other factors deemed relevant by the Board of Directors
Investor Communications
Seagate management will hold a public webcast today at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time that can be accessed on its Investors website at www.seagate.com/investors. During today’s webcast, the Company will provide an outlook for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2016 including key underlying assumptions.
Replay
A replay will be available beginning today at approximately 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time at http://www.seagate.com/investors.
About Seagate
To learn more about the company’s products and services, visit www.seagate.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Spiceworks, YouTube and subscribe to our blog. The contents of our website and social media channels are not a part of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended, including, in particular, statements about the Company’s plans, strategies and prospects and estimates of industry growth for the fiscal quarter ended July 1, 2016 and beyond as well as our plans with respect to future dividend payments. These statements identify prospective information and may include words such as “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “projects” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date of this report and are based on management’s current views and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are conditioned upon and also involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties, and other factors may be beyond the Company’s control and may pose a risk to the Company’s operating and financial condition. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the uncertainty in global economic conditions; the impact of the variable demand and adverse pricing environment for disk drives, particularly in view of current business and economic conditions; the Company’s ability to successfully qualify, manufacture and sell its disk drive products in increasing volumes on a cost-effective basis and with acceptable quality, particularly the new disk drive products with lower cost structures; the impact of competitive product announcements; currency fluctuations that may impact the Company’s margins and international sales; possible excess industry supply with respect to particular disk drive products; disruptions to its supply chain or production capabilities; unexpected advances in competing technologies; the development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; our ability to comply with certain covenants in our credit facilities with respect to financial ratios and financial condition tests; cyber-attacks or other data breaches that disrupt its operations or results in the dissemination of proprietary or confidential information; and the Company’s ability to achieve projected cost savings in connection with restructuring plans and fluctuations in interest rates. Information concerning risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from the expectations described in this report is contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 11, 2015, the “Risk Factors” section of which is incorporated into this report by reference, and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any subsequent date and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made.
The inclusion of Seagate’s website address in this press release is intended to be an inactive textual reference only and not an active hyperlink. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, Seagate’s website is not part of this press release.
For full financial results please visit Seagate's website www.seagate.com