SanDisk's Profit Jumps On Higher Revenue

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) said its first-quarter earnings jumped 62% as the flash-memory maker reported a rise in revenue.

Results were also driven by strong retail performance, noted Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra.

The results marked a continued rebound from a year earlier, when weak pricing and cyclical changes weighed on results. The company, known primarily for its thumb drives and other small-storage devices, has also looked to boost sales of its enterprise solid-state devices.

Last month, the company said it filed a civil lawsuit against SK Hynix Inc. and its U.S. unit, accusing the South Korea-based chip maker of the misappropriation of trade secrets related to NAND flash memory.

For the period ended March 30, SanDisk reported a profit of $268.9 million, or $1.14 a share, up from $166.2 million, or 68 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding share-based compensation and amortization of acquisition-related assets, among other things, adjusted profit rose to $1.44 a share from 84 cents a share.

Revenue rose 13% to $1.51 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecast per-share earnings of $1.25 on revenue of $1.49 billion.

Gross margin widened to 49.7% from 39.6%.

Shares rose 2.2% to $77.51 in after hours trading. Through Wednesday's close, the stock has risen 32% in the last 12 months.