Friday, December 2, 2011
WD: Flooding To Cost $225M to $274M In Quarter
Irvine-based Western Digital, the maker of computer hard disk drives, gave an update on its operations late Thursday evening, saying that flooding in Thailand will cost the firm between $225M and $275M in the December quarter. WD said those costs are exclusive of any insurance recovery. WD has been severely impacted by the flooding in Thailand, some of the worst in history. WD said it now expects revenues of at least $1.8 billion in the quarter. WD also said that it has re-strated production in one of its buildlings in Bang Pa-in, Thailand, after about six feet of water was pumped from the area; the firm's said its other factory in Thailand is still flooded by about two feet of water. WD also said that it expects supply of its hard drives to be impacted until March and beyond. The quarter has not been a good one for WD: the firm was also hit this quarter by a $525M arbitration award to Seagate, which the company said it is still "vigorously contesting."