Read-Rite Corporation
44100 Osgood Road
Fremont, California 94539
Investor Relations
888-377-7378 Tollfree
510-683-7534 Fax

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Read-Rite Corporation
Investment Community: Media:
Jane Conn John DiMatteo
(510) 683-7676 (408) 956-3134

READ-RITE REPORTS SECOND QUARTER FISCAL 2002 RESULTS

FREMONT, CA � April 30, 2002 -- Read-Rite Corporation (Nasdaq: RDRT) today announced net sales for its magnetic recording head segment of $52.4 million and a pro forma net loss and pro forma net loss per share of $54.1 million and $0.45, respectively.  The pro forma net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2002 excludes a $20 million special charge related to the worldwide workforce reduction of approximately 1,250 employees, or 11% of the company�s workforce, as announced in January 2002, combined with other non-cash asset related charges.  The pro forma net loss also excludes a loss of $2.5 million for Scion Photonics, Inc. (�Scion�), which has been sold.  Including the special charge and the results of Scion, under generally accepted accounting principles, the net loss and net loss per share for the three months ended March 31, 2002 were $76.6 million and $0.64, respectively. 

As announced late last week, Read-Rite�s interest in Scion has been sold to JDS Uniphase Corporation.  The company will record the gain from the sale of Scion in the third fiscal quarter of 2002.  As a result of this transaction, Scion�s results, for the current and prior periods, will be presented separately from the results of continuing operations on our statements of operations.

For the six-month period ending March 31, 2002, net sales for  the magnetic recording head segment were $188.3 million, with the net loss from continuing operations of $69.4 million, or $0.58 per share.  For the six months ended March 31, 2002, Read-Rite�s share of the loss from the discontinued fiber optics segment was $11.8 million, or $0.10 per share.

During the second fiscal quarter the company shipped 6.6 million head gimbal assemblies (�HGAs�).  The sales decline is attributed to the technical challenges announced in January concerning the company�s 40 gigabyte per platter products.  Approximately 60% of sales for the March quarter were for 40 gigabyte per platter programs.  The Company ended the quarter with cash balances of $100.2 million.

�We are very disappointed with our performance for the quarter.  However, we believe the technical issues with the 40GB products have been resolved and are currently in final qualifications with our customers on 40 GB 7200 rpm products.  We have begun ramping production of these products in anticipation of volume shipments starting next week.  The designs for our 60 and 80 gigabyte per platter products look promising and, as I indicated in January, it is our firm intent to regain the lead supplier status on future customer launches,� stated Alan S. Lowe, president and chief executive officer.  �Our announcement earlier this week of an areal density breakthrough in our demonstration of 130 gigabits per square inch, or 170 gigabytes per 3.5 inch platter, positions us well to provide leading-edge technology for our customers.�

BUSINESS OUTLOOK

                The statements below are based upon current expectations in connection with the company�s transition to 40 gigabyte per platter programs, are forward-looking and actual results may differ materially. 

 The company continues to believe long-term demand for recording heads will continue to grow as a result of the increased applications for disk drives in non-traditional (non-PC) applications, PC demand and the migration to network attached storage and storage area networks from direct attached server storage systems.

                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 www.readrite.com.

  This release contains forward-looking statements that 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.  The forward-looking statements in this release include statements addressing the following subjects: resolution of the technical issues regarding the 40GB per platter product; anticipated qualification, production ramp and shipment of the 40GB per platter products; design of the 60 and 80 GB per platter products; anticipated gain on the sale of Scion Photonics, Inc.; and the future financial and operating results for the Company.  The Company�s actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements.   Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to:  there may be reductions, cancellations or rescheduling or orders; the Company may be unsuccessful in qualifying and ramping production on the 40GB, 60GB or 80GB products, the Company may be unsuccessful in quickly 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, and other factors described in the Company�s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for Fiscal 2001 and the Quarterly Report of Form 10-Q for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2002 ended December 30, 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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