Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ:STX) (the “Company” or “Seagate”) today reported financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 ended March 31, 2017. For the third quarter, the Company reported revenue of $2.7 billion, gross margin of 30.5%, net income of $194 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.65. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes the net impact of certain items, Seagate reported gross margin of 31.4%, net income of $329 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.10.

During the third quarter, the Company generated $426 million in cash flow from operations, paid cash dividends of $186 million, and successfully raised $1.25 billion in investment grade debt. Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaled approximately $3.0 billion at the end of the quarter. There were 297 million ordinary shares issued and outstanding as of the end of the quarter.

“The results of our financial performance this quarter reflect a stable demand environment, good operational execution and momentum in the stabilization of our business model,” said Steve Luczo, Seagate’s chairman and chief executive officer. “With a market-leading and cost-efficient storage solution portfolio, Seagate is well positioned to support our existing and new customers in a world of accelerated data creation and increased storage needs driven by emerging technologies and new business models. We will continue to focus on future growth opportunities, generating profits and building lasting value for our shareholders.”

For a detailed reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results, see accompanying financial tables.

Seagate has issued a Supplemental Financial Information document, which is available on Seagate’s Investors website at www.seagate.com/investors.

Quarterly Cash Dividend

The Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.63 per share, which will be payable on July 5, 2017 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 21, 2017. The payment of any future quarterly dividends will be at the discretion of the Board and will be dependent upon Seagate’s financial position, results of operations, available cash, cash flow, capital requirements and other factors deemed relevant by the Board.

Investor Communications

Seagate management will hold a public webcast today at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time that can be accessed on its Investor Relations website at www.seagate.com/investors. During today’s webcast, the Company will provide an outlook for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2017, including key underlying assumptions.

An archived audio webcast of this event will be available on Seagate’s Investors website at www.seagate.com/investors shortly following the event conclusion.

About Seagate

To learn more about the Company’s products and services, visit www.seagate.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Spiceworks, YouTube and subscribe to our blog. The contents of our website and social media channels are not a part of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended, including, in particular, statements about the Company’s plans, strategies and prospects, estimates of industry growth, market demand, and dividend issuance plans for the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2017 and beyond. These statements identify prospective information and may include words such as “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “may,” “will,” or the negative of these words, variations of these words and comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date of this report and are based on management’s current views and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are conditioned upon and also involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties, and other factors may be beyond the Company’s control and may pose a risk to the Company’s operating and financial condition. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: items that may be identified during its financial statement closing process that cause adjustments to the estimates included in this report; the uncertainty in global economic conditions; the impact of the variable demand and adverse pricing environment for disk drives; the Company’s ability to successfully qualify, manufacture and sell its disk drive products in increasing volumes on a cost-effective basis and with acceptable quality, particularly the new disk drive products with lower cost structures; the impact of competitive product announcements; the Company’s ability to achieve projected cost savings in connection with restructuring plans; possible excess industry supply with respect to particular disk drive products; disruptions to its supply chain or production capabilities; unexpected advances in competing technologies or changes in market trends; the development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; our ability to comply with certain covenants in our credit facilities with respect to financial ratios and financial condition tests; currency fluctuations that may impact the Company’s margins and international sales; cyber-attacks or other data breaches that disrupt our operations or results in the dissemination of proprietary or confidential information and cause reputational harm; and fluctuations in interest rates. Information concerning risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from the expectations described in this press release is contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 5, 2016, the “Risk Factors” section of which is incorporated into this press release by reference, and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any subsequent date and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made.

The inclusion of Seagate’s website address in this press release is intended to be an inactive textual reference only and not an active hyperlink. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, Seagate’s website and social media channels are not part of this press release.

 
SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY PLC
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In millions)
(Unaudited)
   

March 31,
2017

July 1,
2016 (a)

ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 3,026 $ 1,125
Short-term investments — 6
Accounts receivable, net 1,156 1,318
Inventories 1,038 868
Other current assets 240   216
Total current assets 5,460 3,533
Property, equipment and leasehold improvements, net 1,911 2,160
Goodwill 1,237 1,237
Other intangible assets, net 323 448
Deferred income taxes 605 616
Other assets, net 203   219
Total Assets $ 9,739   $ 8,213
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 1,591 $ 1,517
Accrued employee compensation 245 184
Accrued warranty 112 104
Current portion of long-term debt 158 —
Accrued expenses 683   444
Total current liabilities 2,789 2,249
Long-term accrued warranty 111 102
Long-term accrued income taxes 16 14
Other non-current liabilities 142 164
Long-term debt, less current portion 5,073   4,091
Total Liabilities 8,131 6,620
 
 
Total Equity 1,608   1,593
Total Liabilities and Equity $ 9,739   $ 8,213

(a) The information in this column was derived from the Company’s audited Consolidated Balance Sheet as of July 1, 2016.

 
SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY PLC
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In millions, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
   
For the Three Months Ended For the Nine Months Ended
March 31,
2017		   April 1,
2016		 March 31,
2017		   April 1,
2016
Revenue $ 2,674 $ 2,595 $ 8,365 $ 8,506
 
Cost of revenue 1,858 2,071 5,857 6,553
Product development 324 298 944 930
Marketing and administrative 150 150 457 491
Amortization of intangibles 28 29 85 94
Restructuring and other, net 48   20   164   95  
Total operating expenses 2,408   2,568   7,507   8,163  
 
Income from operations 266 27 858 343
 
Interest income 5 1 7 2
Interest expense (60 ) (47 ) (160 ) (142 )
Other, net 1   28   (10 ) 18  
Other expense, net (54 ) (18 ) (163 ) (122 )
 
Income before income taxes 212 9 695 221
Provision for income taxes 18   30   37   43  
Net income (loss) $ 194   $ (21 ) $ 658   $ 178  
 
Net income (loss) per share:
Basic $ 0.66 $ (0.07 ) $ 2.22 $ 0.59
Diluted 0.65 (0.07 ) 2.20 0.59
Number of shares used in per share calculations:
Basic 296 298 297 300
Diluted 300 298 299 303
 
Cash dividends declared per ordinary share $ 0.63 $ 0.63 $ 1.89 $ 1.80
 
 
SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY PLC
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In millions)
(Unaudited)
 
For the Nine Months Ended
March 31,
2017		   April 1,
2016
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net income $ 658 $ 178
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 573 615
Share-based compensation 110 95
Impairment of long-lived assets 35 25
Deferred income taxes 12 1
Other non-cash operating activities, net 17 10
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

Accounts receivable, net 165 531
Inventories (170 ) 85
Accounts payable 124 (31 )
Accrued employee compensation 61 (92 )
Accrued expenses, income taxes and warranty 69 1
Other assets and liabilities 19   (7 )
Net cash provided by operating activities 1,673   1,411  
INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Acquisition of property, equipment and leasehold improvements (330 ) (441 )
Maturities of short-term investments 6 —
Cash used in acquisition of business, net of cash acquired — (634 )
Other investing activities, net (13 ) 10  
Net cash used in investing activities (337 ) (1,065 )
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Redemption and repurchase of debt (97 ) (22 )
Net proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 1,232 —
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards (25 ) (55 )
Repurchases of ordinary shares (248 ) (1,090 )
Dividends to shareholders (374 ) (539 )
Proceeds from issuance of ordinary shares under employee stock plans 83 78
Other financing activities, net —   (4 )
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 571   (1,632 )
Effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash (8 ) —  
Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash 1,899 (1,286 )
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at the beginning of the period 1,132   2,486  
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at the end of the period $ 3,031   $ 1,200  
 

Use of non-GAAP financial information

The Company uses non-GAAP measures of gross margin, net income and diluted earnings per share, which are adjusted from results based on GAAP to exclude certain expenses, gains and losses. These non-GAAP financial measures may be provided to enhance the user’s overall understanding of the Company’s current financial performance and its prospects for the future. Specifically, the Company believes non-GAAP results provide useful information to both management and investors as these non-GAAP results exclude certain expenses, gains and losses that it believes are not indicative of its core operating results and because it is similar to the approach used in connection with the financial models and estimates published by financial analysts who follow the Company.

These non-GAAP results are some of the primary measurements management uses to assess the Company’s performance, allocate resources and plan for future periods. Reported non-GAAP results should only be considered as supplemental to results prepared in accordance with GAAP, and not considered as a substitute for, or superior to, GAAP results. These non-GAAP measures may differ from the non-GAAP measures reported by other companies in its industry.

 
SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY PLC
ADJUSTMENTS TO GAAP NET INCOME AND DILUTED NET INCOME PER SHARE
(In millions, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
   

For the Three
Months Ended
March 31, 2017

For the Nine
Months Ended
March 31, 2017

Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income:
GAAP Net income $ 194 $ 658
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Revenue A 1 (1 )
Cost of revenue B 24 79
Product development C 30 31
Marketing and administrative D 2 1
Amortization of intangibles E 27 81
Restructuring and other, net F 48 164
Other expense, net G — 24
Provision for income taxes H 3   3  
Non-GAAP net income $ 329   $ 1,040  
 
Reconciliation of GAAP Diluted Net Income Per Share:
GAAP $ 0.65 $ 2.20
Non-GAAP $ 1.10 $ 3.48
Shares used in diluted net income per share calculation 300 299
A   For the three and nine months ended March 31, 2017, Revenue has been adjusted on a non-GAAP basis for changes in the sales provision for discontinued products.
B For the three and nine months ended March 31, 2017, Cost of revenue has been adjusted on a non-GAAP basis to exclude amortization of intangibles associated with acquisitions, accelerated depreciation, the write off of certain fixed assets related to restructuring and other charges.
C For the three and nine months ended March 31, 2017, Product development expenses have been adjusted on a non-GAAP basis to exclude accelerated depreciation and the write off of certain fixed assets related to restructuring and other charges.
D For the three and nine months ended March 31, 2017, Marketing and administrative expenses have been adjusted on a non-GAAP basis primarily to reflect the impact of certain strategic development costs and the write off of certain fixed assets.
E For the three and nine months ended March 31, 2017, Amortization of intangibles primarily related to our acquisitions has been excluded on a non-GAAP basis.
F For the three and nine months ended March 31, 2017, Restructuring and other net, has been adjusted on a non-GAAP basis primarily related to reductions in our workforce as a result of our ongoing focus on cost efficiencies in all areas of our business.
G For the nine months ended March 31, 2017, Other expense, net has been adjusted on a non-GAAP basis to exclude the impairment of a certain strategic investment.
H For the three and nine months ended March 31, 2017, Provision for income taxes represents the tax effects of non-GAAP adjustments determined using a hybrid with and without method and effective tax rate for the applicable adjustment and jurisdiction.