HITS

Western Digital reported both higher revenue and profit for its fiscal fourth quarter (ended June 29), thanks to higher demand for its products and from its cloud customers for high-capacity helium drives, the company said.

Western Digital — which operates the G-Technology, HGST, SanDisk and other brands — reported revenue of $5.1 billion for the quarter, up from $4.8 billion a year ago, with operating income of $843 million. Quarterly profit stood at $756 million, nearly triple the $280 million reported a year ago.

“I’m pleased with our financial performance as we report strong revenue, profitability and cash flow generation,” said Steve Milligan, CEO of Western Digital.

“The Western Digital platform allows us to continue to deliver differentiated financial performance enabling us to effectively navigate dynamic market conditions. With a deepening customer engagement, and our growing exposure to secular growth areas such as mobility and cloud, we remain poised to deliver compelling long-term shareholder value.”

The company’s Data Center Devices and Solutions division saw high demand for high-capacity helium drives, particularly those with 12 terabyte capacity, and since the launch of its helium platform, Western Digital has shipped more than 30 million drives. In the embedded applications, the company saw higher adoption of its 3D flash-based products, and most recently announced industry-first, 96-layer QLC 3D flash technology. “This new 3D flash chip delivers the industry’s highest storage capacity of 1.33 terabits in a single die, reflecting the deep flash technology design and implementation expertise of our team,” Michael Cordano, company president and COO, said in a call with investors.

Milligan added: “Western Digital’s products and solutions are a key enabler of the ongoing growth in the volume and value of data. Our differentiated performance has demonstrated the stability, reliability and resiliency of our business model.”