FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FREMONT, CA � March 11, 2002 - Read-Rite Corporation (Nasdaq: RDRT) today updated its guidance for second fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2002 based on lower than expected shipments and higher per unit costs from lower volumes.

The company now anticipates revenue for the second fiscal quarter of 2002 to be in the range of $50 million to $55 million, with an operating loss from the company�s magnetic recording head business of approximately $0.50 cents per share.  In addition, the company expects to take a charge of $15 million to $18 million for severance activities already completed and inventory obsolescence.  The previous guidance was for revenue of $65 million to $85 million, an operating loss from the company�s magnetic recording head business of $0.25 to $0.35 per diluted share, and a $6 million charge for severance payments.

As stated before, the company continues to believe that in the third fiscal quarter of 2002 it will see an increase in revenue and a reduction in the loss from the second fiscal quarter. The company noted that it is on schedule with its new GMR head design and is encouraged with the results to date concerning additional product qualifications on customers� 40 GB programs that should result in increased shipments, improved costs and additional revenue.   The company is also continuing its focus on the next-generation 60 & 80 GB customer platforms, which the company expects will begin ramping in the latter half of the calendar year.

The company is scheduled to release results for the second fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2002 after the close of the market on April 30, 2002 and will provide further information at that time.

Read-Rite Corporation is one of the world's leading independent manufacturers of magnetic recording heads, head gimbal assemblies (HGAs) and head stack assemblies (HSAs) for disk drives and tape drives. The company is headquartered in Fremont, California and has operations in California, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. The company's website is located at http://www.readrite.com. Read-Rite is also the majority shareholder of Scion Photonics, Inc., an integrated solution provider to the fiber optics industry whose offerings include advanced DWDM products, fiber optic assembly equipment and application specific photonic components. Scion's website is located at http://www.scionphotonics.com.  

This news release contains projections and forward looking statements regarding future events and the future financial performance of the company that involve risks and uncertainties and is subject to the "safe harbor" provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results. These statements include, but are not limited to: the company�s anticipation that revenue for the second fiscal quarter of 2002 will be in the range of $50 million to $55 million, with an operating loss from the company�s magnetic recording head business of approximately $0.50 cents per share; the company�s expectation that it will take a charge of $15 million to $18 million for severance activities already completed and inventory obsolescence; the company belief that in the third fiscal quarter of 2002 it will see an increase in revenue and a reduction in the loss from the second fiscal quarter; the company�s belief that it is on schedule with its new GMR head design and is encouraged with the results to date concerning additional product qualifications on customers� 40 GB programs that should result in increased shipments, improved costs and additional revenue; and, the company�s expectation that it will begin ramping next-generation 60 & 80 GB customer platforms in the latter half of the calendar year.   Readers are referred to the documents filed by the company with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q, each as it may be amended from time to time, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition to these risk factors, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: there may be reductions, cancellations or a rescheduling of orders by any of the company�s customers; the company may be unsuccessful in resolving the technical issues concerning the 40GB products; the company may be unsuccessful in quickly and cost effectively ramping volume production of heads for higher density drives in the future; design-ins or qualifications of the company�s products on future programs may not occur or could take place at a slower rate than anticipated; the company may be unsuccessful in achieving and maintaining satisfactory yields; unfavorable industry conditions could worsen; the company's anticipated unit and revenue growth in the next fiscal quarter may not occur; demand for the company's products could weaken and lead to order cancellations or reschedules; the company may be unsuccessful in controlling its expenditures and/or in securing financing to fund its operations; the competition may introduce products earlier and/or be more cost efficient than the company.  Read-Rite undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of such statements.