Seagate Q4 tops estimates, CFO to depart

Seagate said CFO David Morton was stepping down to take on a new role at another company.

Seagate on Monday announced that its CFO David Morton was stepping down to take on a new role at another company. The executive departure was reported alongside Seagate's fourth quarter financial results, which beat market expectations.

The hard-disk drive storage provider reported Q4 net income of $461 million, or $1.57 per share, on revenue of $2.8 billion. Non-GAAP earnings for the quarter were $1.62 a share.

Wall Street was expecting Seagate to report non-GAAP earnings of $1.45 a share on revenue of $2.8 billion. Shares of Seagate were up more than four percent in pre-market trading.

Seagate said Q4 revenue for its hard-disk drive (HDD) portfolio was $2.65 billion, up from $2.2 billion the previous year. The bulk of HDD sales went to OEMs. Revenue from Seagate's enterprise systems, flash, and other category was $183 million.

In his final remarks as Seagate's finance chief, Morton said the company's better-than-expected quarter reflects "solid execution and strong demand for [Seagate's] mass storage products."

"Looking ahead, we are confident that storage infrastructure demand will continue to grow with the Data Age digital transformations being fueled by new technologies, emerging industries and growing businesses," he said.

Morton's last day with Seagate August 3. Kathryn Scolnick will become interim CFO during the search for Morton's permanent replacement.

Seagate noted that Morton's departure "is not based on any disagreement with the company's accounting principles, practices or financial statement disclosures."

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