Lake Forest-based disk drive maker Western Digital Corp. upped its outlook for the March quarter as its own drives on hand and those available through distributors, PC makers and stores are “well controlled.”
The company now expects profits of $233 million to $246 million for the current quarter. In January, Western Digital forecast earnings of $189 million to $202 million.
Sales are seen coming in at $2 billion to $2.07 billion, versus January’s outlook of $2 billion.
Western Digital said it has about 3 weeks’ worth of drives on hand. Distributors, PC makers and stores have a “manageable range” of 4 to 6 weeks supply, it said.
The company makes drives for storing data on computers, consumer electronics and portable drives that users can plug into different computers.
The drive business is known for slim profits, tough price competition and occasional product gluts that drag down manufacturers.
Western Digital has been on a tear of late, beating Wall Street’s expectations for the three months through Dec. 28. The company’s shares are up about 50% in the past six months on a recent market value of $7.5 billion.
