Seagate Technology PLC shares STX were off more than 2% in Thursday morning action after the chip company posted a surprise loss for its latest quarter. The company reported a $433 million fiscal third-quarter net loss, or a loss of $2.09 a share, whereas it recorded net income of $346 million, or $1.56 a share, in the year-earlier period. On an adjusted basis, Seagate lost 28 cents a share, while analysts tracked by FactSet were expecting 25 cents a share in adjusted earnings. The company’s GAAP operating expenses included a $300 million penalty for alleged violations of export regulations that were recently resolved through a settlement agreement. Revenue sank to $1.86 billion from $2.80 billion, missing the FactSet consensus, which was for $1.98 billion. “We are seeing a more elongated customer inventory correction that led to weaker than expected near-line demand among a few large customers late in the quarter,” Chief Executive Dave Mosley said in a release. “Consequently, our March-quarter revenue came in at the low-end of our guidance range, which along with underutilization charges and other factors had a severe impact on our reported margins and profitability.” For the fiscal fourth quarter, Seagate anticipates $1.7 billion in revenue at the midpoint, while analysts were expecting nearly $2.1 billion. The company’s adjusted bottom-line forecast spans a wide range, from a loss of 20 cents a share to positive earnings of 20 cents a share. Analysts tracked by FactSet were modeling 54 cents a share in adjusted earnings.
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