SanDisk Shares Pounded After Posting Sharp Loss

SanDisk Monday reported a sharp swing to a loss in its quarterly results as pricing was hurt by an industry glut of memory chips for gadgets, sending its shares down 9 percent after-hours.

SanDisk said it was delaying the next phase of expansion at its Fab 4 plant until industry conditions improve.

The company posted a net loss, including one-time items, of $68 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, from a profit of $28 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue fell 1 percent to $816 million instead of growing 9 percent, which was the average analyst estimate.

Excluding the impact of acquisition-related charge, stock option expenses and related tax effects, the company reported a net loss of $22 million, or 10 cents per share, down from an adjusted year-ago profit of $72 million, or 30 cents per share.

Analysts had expected a net loss, on average, of 1 cent per diluted share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Excluding one-time items, Wall Street was looking for a consensus profit, of 12 cents per share.