SanDisk results beat estimates

Published Jan 29, 2010

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San Francisco - US flash memory maker SanDisk posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street's estimates and reported a higher gross margin, helped by cost cuts.

SanDisk shares rose slightly in after-hours trading. Investors to some extent had expected Sandisk to beat the Street's forecasts, analysts said.

SanDisk sells NAND flash memory to technology businesses and sells memory cards to customers at retail. Flash memory comes in many consumer electronics products, including smartphones, gaming devices and digital music players.

"Some of the beat was priced in, but I don't think this magnitude," said Oppenheimer analyst Gary Hsueh. "They had pretty big (original equipment manufacturer) business last quarter. It looks like it's getting even bigger this quarter."

The company posted a net profit of $339.5 million, or $1.45 a share, in the fourth quarter ended January 3, compared with a loss of $1.76 billion, or $7.78 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding items, SanDisk earned $1.18 a share, beating the average analyst estimate of 69 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 44 percent to $1.24 billion versus Wall Street's forecast of $1.17 billion.

The company reported a non-GAAP gross margin of 45 percent, above the analyst target of roughly 34 percent.

Shares of Milpitas, California-based SanDisk closed at $28.78 on the Nasdaq and rose to $29 in extended trading. - Reuters

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