FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

READ-RITE'S GMR MARKET SHARE GROWS TO 39% AS THE COMPANY RACKS UP ITS EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE QUARTER OF MARKET SHARE GAINS

FREMONT, CA - August 15, 2001 -- Read-Rite Corporation (Nasdaq: RDRT) today reported that it's overall GMR market share during the quarter ending June 30, 2001 increased to 39.0% from 33.5% in the previous quarter, as reported by TrendFOCUS, an independent market research firm covering the data storage industry.   This is the eighth consecutive quarterly increase in Read-Rite's GMR merchant market share.  The incorporation of GMR technology has enabled the company's customers to increase the capacity of their hard disk drives (HDD's) over 150% per year since Read-Rite's GMR recording heads were first introduced.  This technology is also being heralded as a key element in the anticipated growth of HDD consumer applications such as game stations, set top boxes, personal video recorders and other devices that are scheduled for introduction later this year and next.  

 While the market for heads decreased over 15% during the June quarter, the company gained market share as it reported less than a 2% decline in unit shipments, 22.2 million GMR heads this quarter compared to 22.6 million GMR heads for the previous quarter.    Mark Geenen, president of TrendFOCUS, a market research firm covering the data storage industry, stated that "Read-Rite's share gain to 39% in CQ2 from 33% in CQ1 demonstrates solid performance during a volatile period.  This is the eighth consecutive quarter of GMR share gain for the company."  

 "We credit this two-year track record of market share gains to our ability to meet the ever increasing technology and cost demands of our customers. We are continuing to focus on new product execution at the lowest possible cost," stated Alan S. Lowe, president and chief executive officer.  Lowe added, "gaining share as the market experienced substantial contraction this past quarter is a great accomplishment and I am proud of what our team has done."

 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 release may contain forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances.� Actual results may vary materially from the expectations contained in such forward-looking statements Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to:� cancellations or rescheduling of orders by the company�s customers, and the other factors described in the company's reports filed with the SEC, including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2000, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of fiscal 2001 ended December 31, 2000, second quarter of fiscal 2001 ended April 1, 2001 and third quarter of fiscal 2001 ended July 1, 2001.� Read-Rite undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of such statements.

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