Press Releases

Oct 21, 2010

Milpitas, CA, October 21, 2010 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today announced results for the third quarter ended October 3, 2010.  Total third quarter revenue of $1.23 billion increased 32% on a year-over-year basis and increased 5% on a sequential basis.  Net income, in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), was $322 million, or $1.34 per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $231 million, or $0.99 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2009 and GAAP net income of $258 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2010.

On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes the impact of share-based compensation expense, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, non-cash economic interest expense associated with the cash-settled convertible notes, and related tax adjustments and valuation allowance, third-quarter net income was $311 million, or $1.30 per diluted share, compared to net income of $176 million, or $0.75 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2009 and net income of $258 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2010.  For reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP results, see accompanying financial tables and footnotes.

"SanDisk delivered outstanding results for the third quarter, driven by continued strength in our OEM and retail businesses. Solid execution, stable pricing and substantial cost reductions led to record high operating and net income and our highest ever total gross margin of 52%.  For 2011, we are bullish about continuing growth in our diversified channels, including further substantial inroads for our embedded storage products in smartphones, tablet PC's and other mobile devices," said Eli Harari, Chairman and CEO of SanDisk.

THIRD QUARTER 2010 METRICS & HIGHLIGHTS

• Total revenue was $1.23 billion, up 32% year-over-year and up 5% sequentially.
• Product revenue was $1.14 billion, up 40% year-over-year and up 4% sequentially.
• License and royalty revenue was $96 million, down 21% year-over-year and up 9% sequentially.
• Total gross profit, product gross profit and operating income compared on a year-over-year and sequential basis are shown in the table below:

• Cash flow from operations was $379 million and free cash flow was $416 million.
• Total cash and equivalents, short and long-term marketable securities at the end of the third quarter were $5.1 billion compared to $2.6 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2009 and $3.7 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2010.
• SanDisk completed a $1.0 billion senior unsecured convertible notes offering due 2017. The notes will pay interest semi-annually at a rate of 1.5% per annum.
• Average price per gigabyte sold declined 20% on a year-over-year basis and declined 5% sequentially.

OTHER RECENT KEY ANNOUNCEMENTS

• SanDisk introduced the industry's first embedded solid state drive (SSD), the SanDisk® integrated SSD (iSSD), a high-capacity storage solution for use in fast-growing mobile computing platforms such as tablet PCs and ultra-thin notebooks, in capacities ranging from 4 gigabytes to 64 gigabytes.
• SanDisk launched a new sub-$100 media player, Sansa® Fuze™+, with a microSDHC™ card slot that is compatible with the SanDisk® slotRadio™ pre-loaded music card or with any other microSD card containing music, videos and photos.

CONFERENCE CALL
SanDisk's third quarter 2010 conference call is scheduled for 2:00 P.M., Pacific Daylight Time, Thursday, October 21, 2010.  The conference call will be webcast and can be accessed live, and throughout the quarter, at SanDisk's website at http://www.sandisk.com/IR.  To participate in the call via telephone, the dial-in number is 719-325-4827 and the dial-in password is 9488738.  A copy of this press release will be furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on a current report on Form 8-K and will be posted to our website prior to the conference call.

SCHEDULED INTERVIEW
SanDisk Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Eli Harari, is scheduled to appear on CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo," on Thursday, October 21, 2010, at approximately 1:20 P.M., Pacific Daylight Time. 

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements about our business prospects and outlook, and our expectations regarding our business, including expected growth in flash memory demand, including overall growth in our diversified sales channels and growth in the demand for embedded storage products in smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, that are based on our current expectations and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate and may significantly harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.  Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others:

• competitive pricing pressures, resulting in lower average selling prices and lower or negative product gross margins;
• less than anticipated demand, including due to economic weakness in our markets and among consumers generally;
• unpredictable or changing demand for our products, particularly for certain form factors or capacities;
• excess captive memory output or capacity which could result in write-downs for excess inventory, lower of cost or market reserves, fixed costs associated with under-utilized capacity, or other consequences;
• insufficient captive and non-captive memory supply to meet demand;
• insufficient non-memory materials or capacity from our suppliers and contract manufacturers to meet demand; or increases in cost of non-memory materials or capacity;
• our products may not perform as expected; and
• other risks detailed from time-to-time under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter of fiscal 2010.

ABOUT SANDISK
SanDisk Corporation is the global leader in flash memory cards, from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution.  SanDisk's product portfolio includes flash memory cards for mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders; digital audio/video players; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise; embedded memory for mobile devices; and solid state drives for computers.  SanDisk is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.

SanDisk, the SanDisk logo and Sansa Fuze are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries.  SDHC is a trademark of SD-3C LLC.  Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder(s).

SanDisk Supporting Document (.pdf)

Q3 2010 Financial Tables