Western Digital 1995 Annual Report Download - page 4

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Shareholders’Equity
(in millions)
Earnings per
Share
    .
Charles A. Haggerty
Chairman of the Board,
President and Chief Ex ecutive Officer
September 21, 1995
Western Digital first in quality market, first to market and first to volume, we have committed to
invest more than $1 billion in research and development over the next five years.
Western Digital’s strong financial performance last year enabled us to reduce the Company’s
long-term debt to zero. The last debt issue, about $40 million of convertible subordinated deben-
tures, was called for redemption in June 1995.
The Company’s share-repurchase program, extended by the Board of Directors until
September 1996, was interrupted by the call of our convertible debenture issue. As of the fiscal
year’s end, our treasury had completed the purchase of about one and a half percent of the
Company’s shares. The Board’s authorization is for as much as 10 percent. We will continue to
monitor stock price movements and act when appropriate in order to build value for our
shareholders.
During the 1995 fiscal year, Western Digital earned company-wide ISO 9001 registration,
becoming the first of the then-member companies of the FORTUNE 500 to be so recognized.
The award of this registration honors the establishment of quality-assurance processes throughout
Western Digital, from manufacturing and marketing to such enterprise-wide services as human
resources and finance, and in locations from Singapore and Malaysia to Irvine and Munich. We
take it as a challenge to further improve our commitment to excellence in high-technology prod-
ucts, processes and communication.
We have many opportunities: continued rapid market growth in PC hard drives; the leverage
of our Company’s expertise in semiconductor devices, input/output links, software and board
designs into the development of fibre channel fabric products; and the great promise offered by
markets for our exciting new high-performance, high-capacity hard drives. So, we are optimistic
about the future of our markets and of Western Digital. We aim to take advantage of the opportu-
nities before us.
Sincerely,