Seagate Ships Record Number of Hard Drives

Seagate Technologies, the world’s largest maker of hard disk drives (HDDs), shipped record amount of hard drives in the third quarter of its fiscal 2010 and said that the total available market (TAM) of HDDs would be constrained by supply this calendar year. Earlier analysts predicted that the supply situation will be easier in the second half of the year.

“With respect to demand in the March quarter, the total available market countered seasonal patterns and grew to approximately 163 million units, higher than our original expectation of between 155 and 160 million units. The 163 million units were likely short of unconstrained demand, as indicated by low inventory levels in our OEM and distribution channels,” said Steven Luczo, chief executive officer and chairman of Seagate.

Seagate on Wednesday reported financial results for the quarter ended April 2, 2010 of 50.3 million disk drive unit shipments, revenue of $3.05 billion, gross margin of 29.6%, net income of $518 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.00. The financial results for the quarter include $9 million of purchased intangibles amortization expense and $4 million of restructuring charges.