Hard-disk drive maker Seagate Technology’s quarterly profit and revenue beat the average analyst estimate as demand increased for its personal computer and cloud storage products.

The company’s storage shipments grew 23% to 60mn exabytes for the first quarter ended October 3, chief executive Steve Luczo said on a post-earnings call with analysts. One exabyte equals one billion gigabytes.

Enterprise category, comprising Seagate’s cloud business, outperformed average analysts’ estimate the most — by 7%,

FBN Securities analyst Shebly Seyrafi said.

“I think (Seagate) did start shipping what looks like the 8-terabyte drive in the enterprise ... that’s what’s helping their enterprise shipments,” Seyrafi said.

An improving PC market also helped, he said.

Seagate gets about two-thirds of its revenue from original equipment manufacturer customers including PC makers.

Research firm IDC estimated earlier this month that worldwide PC shipments had fallen 1.7% in the quarter ended September — less than what analysts had feared, offset by a 4.3% growth in the US.

More businesses in the US and Europe upgraded computers or bought new machines in the quarter.

Net income attributable to Seagate fell to $381mn, or $1.13 per share, from $427mn, or $1.16 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.34 per share.

Revenue jumped 8.5% to $3.79bn.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.24 per share on revenue of $3.63bn, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Seagate forecast revenue of about $3.7bn for this quarter. Analysts on average were expecting $3.68bn.

Allergan

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International yesterday said in a letter to Allergan’s board of directors that it was prepared to raise its offer to at least $200 per share but stopped short of doing so.

Valeant, whose existing offer values the Botox maker at about $179 per share, or $53.25bn, said last week that the Canadian pharmaceutical company was considering raising the bid and would increase the cash portion of the offer to do so.

“To be clear, Valeant is prepared to improve its offer and provide value to your shareholders of at least $200 a share. We are confident that an increase in our stock price, and in consideration, will provide that value,” Valeant chief executive officer Michael Pearson said in the letter.

At $200 per share, the offer would be worth more than $59bn.

Allergan said the letter was a tactic to distract investors from Allergan third-quarter earnings, which it announced on Monday morning and did not include offer details.

“I think all we saw today was an offer to negotiate,” Allergan chief executive officer David Pyott said during a conference call.

Pyott declined to answer questions during the call about whether or not the company is pursuing a “white knight” acquirer for Allergan or its own purchases.

Allergan will hold a shareholder meeting on December 18 at the request of investors who own more than 35% of the company’s stock, including Pershing Square head William Ackman. Investors will vote on new directors put forth by Ackman and to open discussions on the deal.

A hearing is scheduled later yesterday in federal court in California where a judge will hear from both sides on if Ackman’s stake in Allergan of nearly 10% should count as part of that shareholder vote. Allergan asked to exclude the shares as part of an insider trading suit it filed against Valeant and Pershing Square.

Separately yesterday, Allergan reported a third-quarter profit of $1.78 per share, excluding items. On October 9, the company preannounced those earnings and said it would report a profit that was more than 20% higher than it had previously expected, in the range of $1.76 to $1.78 per share.

Allergan also raised the outlook for the current quarter, saying it now expects earnings of $1.80 to $1.83 per share, and for the year of $6.27 to $6.30 per share.

TNT Express

Dutch logistics company TNT Express said yesterday it had made a loss in the third quarter on lower revenues, with earnings hit by near flat demand in key European markets and the cost of setting aside money to settle a French competition case.

The company said adjusted revenues fell slightly in Europe, which contributes the bulk of its revenues, with pricing pressures especially evident in Italy and other markets. Trading conditions were also tough in Russia and Ukraine.

The logistics sector is seen as a leading indicator for the state of the economy since it is sensitive to companies’ forward planning and stock purchases.

TNT Express said results in Europe and the Americas would stabilise over the rest of the year, with other regions likely to improve, but chief executive Tex Gunning said there was “limited visibility” on the European trading outlook.

The company made a €47mn ($59.68mn) operating loss on revenue of €1.65bn, down 2% from a year earlier but ahead of the 1.59bn estimated by analysts in a poll conducted for Reuters.

It made an adjusted profit of €50mn if costs including a 50mn euro provision for the French competition case, as well as restructuring, foreign exchange and depreciation costs were excluded, the company said.

TNT Express said it would invest €185mn in its core European road network to improve efficiency and service quality. The company said it planned €70mn to €80mn in capital expenditure in the fourth quarter.