SNDK Sandisk Corp.

SanDisk Corp. said earnings doubled in the first quarter and easily topped expectations, results that come as the disk drive maker is in the process of merging with Western Digital Corp.

The Milipitas, Calif., company, which struck a $19 billion deal to be bought by memory-chip maker Western Digital late last year, reported a profit of $78.4 million, or 37 cents a share. That is up from $39 million, or 17 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding acquisition-related expenses, among other items, the per-share profit rose to 82 cents from 62 cents in the year-ago quarter. Analysts were looking for 55 cents in adjusted earnings per share.

A 2.5% rise in sales, to $1.37 billion, helped push earnings higher. Analysts predicted $1.21 billion in first-quarter revenue.

Lower costs, which declined by 17% during the period, also helped the bottom line. The decline in operating expenses was due in part to lower merger costs than in the year-ago quarter, a decline in overhead expenses and reduced research and development spending.

Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra highlighted growth in sales of enterprise solutions, client SSDs and removable products. He expressed enthusiasm over the opportunities post-merger, but didn't elaborate on the transaction's progression.

Shares in the company, up 12% over the past 12 months, edged 0.6% higher in after-hours trading.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2016 17:05 ET (21:05 GMT)

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