Western Digital has partially restored production at one of its HDD manufacturing plants in Thailand one week ahead of schedule, according to a press release issued yesterday. The company also raised its revenue outlook for the current quarter as a result, and now expects to make around $1.8 billion in revenue instead of the $1.05 billion to $1.25 billion it previously estimated due to the recent floods in the country.
"Much work remains to be done, but we couldn't be more pleased with the effort and results thus far, including tremendous support from our supply partners and customers," said Western Digital CEO John Coyne. "The passion, perseverance, ingenuity and execution exhibited by the Western Digital team has been extraordinary and enabled us to make substantial progress in partially restoring our operations in Thailand."
Other operations remain under about two feet of water but are expected to be pumped dry within 10 days, after which they must be decontaminated and refurbished. The whole cleanup operation is expected to cost Western Digital somewhere in the region of $50 million, according to The Register. That's on top of other charges related to the flood expected to be between $225 million and $275 million.
Despite the ongoing troubles in Thailand, where the firm makes about 60% of its products, investors were apparently very enthusiastic about the raised outlook as shared jumped 12% to $32.76 in early trading.
The company also said it is working on meeting the European Commission's requirements for its Hitachi GST acquisition but provided no specific details on that topic. Lastly, regarding the hefty $525 million in damages it was recently ordered to pay Seagate, Western Digital said it would be vigorously contesting the decision.