Seagate revises its outlook

Disk drive maker Seagate Technology on Tuesday updated its outlook for the March quarter, saying it expects earnings "at the low end" of its previously stated range of 20 cents to 30 cents per share. Demand from customers in the month of January was weaker than historical norms, Seagate said. The company also cited lower-than-expected demand industrywide for drives in the mobile and corporate markets for the March quarter. For example, Seagate said, it expects the "total available market" for enterprise storage products to be about 5 million units, 10 percent below the company's previous expectation of 5.5 million units. On the other hand, Seagate said pricing declines for personal storage products have moderated from declines in the December quarter.

Seagate's quarter ends April 2. The company competes against rivals including Maxtor and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.