Western Digital beats estimates

Western Digital Corp., a maker of hard-disk drives, reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates on sales of storage for laptops and consumer devices.

Net income of $213 million, or 94 cents a share, for the period ended June 27 was little changed from a year earlier, the Lake Forest firm said. Sales rose 46% to $2 billion. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey had estimated earnings of 82 cents a share and sales of $1.9 billion.

Chief Executive John Coyne has narrowed the gap with market leader Seagate Technology by upgrading Western Digital’s technology and selling more portable storage. Desktop-computer drives, which once accounted for almost all of Western Digital’s sales, made up just 37% last quarter.

Shares rose 38 cents to $34 in extended trading after closing at $33.62 before the earnings news.