SANDISK ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2011 FINANCIAL RESULTS

Reports Record Quarterly & Annual Revenues

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, announced results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 1, 2012. Total fourth quarter revenue of $1.58 billion increased 19% on a year-over-year basis and increased 11% on a sequential basis. Total revenue for fiscal 2011 of $5.66 billion increased 17% from $4.83 billion in fiscal 2010.

On a GAAP(1) basis, fourth quarter net income was $281 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, compared to net income of $485 million, or $2.01, per diluted share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 and $233 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Net income for fiscal 2011 was $987 million, or $4.04 per diluted share.

On a non-GAAP(2) basis, fourth-quarter net income was $317 million, or $1.29 per diluted share, compared to net income of $307 million, or $1.27 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 and net income of $292 million, or $1.20 per diluted share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Net income for fiscal 2011 was $1.14 billion, or $4.65 per diluted share. For reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP results, see accompanying financial tables and footnotes.

"We are pleased to deliver record quarterly and annual revenues with robust profitability," said Sanjay Mehrotra, President and CEO. "The secular demand trends for NAND flash remain vibrant and we are particularly excited about the new growth opportunities for our business in the Enterprise and Client Computing markets."

FOURTH QUARTER 2011 KEY FINANCIAL METRICS

Metric
in millions of US$,
except %
GAAP
Non - GAAP
Q411 Q410 Q311 Q411 Q410 Q311
Revenue $1,577 $1,327 $1,416 $1,577 $1,327 $1,416
Gross Profit
% of revenue $662
42.0% $576
43.4% $612
43.2% $676
42.9% $580
43.7% $627
44.3%
Operating Income
% of revenue $416
26.4% $357
26.9% $386
27.3% $449
28.5% $385
29.0% $417
29.4%
Cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was $210 million and free cash flow(3) was $299 million.
Total cash and cash equivalents and short and long-term marketable securities at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 were $5.62 billion compared to $5.34 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 and $5.27 billion at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
FISCAL 2011 KEY FINANCIAL METRICS

Metric
in millions of US$, except %
GAAP
Non - GAAP
2011 2010 2011 2010
Revenue $5,662 $4,827 $5,662 $4,827
Gross Profit
% of revenue $2,439
43.1% $2,262
46.9% $2,484
43.9% $2,280
47.2%
Operating Income
% of revenue $1,530
27.0% $1,462
30.3% $1,637
28.9% $1,553
32.2%
Cash flow from operations in fiscal 2011 was $1.05 billion and free cash flow(3) was $377 million.
CONFERENCE CALL
SanDisk's fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 conference call is scheduled for 2:00 P.M., Pacific Time, Wednesday, January 25, 2012. The conference call will be webcast and can be accessed live, and throughout the quarter, at SanDisk's website at www.sandisk.com/IR. To participate in the call via telephone, the dial-in number is             719-457-1036       and the dial-in password is 5300014. A copy of this press release will be furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on a current report on Form 8-K and will be posted to our website prior to the conference call.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements about our business prospects and our expectations regarding our business, demand trends and expected growth, including in the Enterprise and Client Computing markets, that are based on our current expectations and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate and may significantly harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others:

competitive pricing pressures, resulting in lower average selling prices and lower or negative product gross margins;
unpredictable or changing demand for our products, particularly for certain form factors, such as embedded flash memory, or capacities, or the mix of X2 and X3 technologies;
excess captive memory output or capacity which could result in write-downs for excess inventory, lower of cost or market charges, fixed costs associated with under-utilized capacity, or other consequences;
increased memory component and other costs as a result of currency exchange rate fluctuations to the U.S. dollar, particularly with respect to the Japanese yen;
lower than anticipated demand, including due to general economic weakness in our markets;
expansion of industry supply, including low-grade supply useable in limited markets, creating excess supply, causing our average selling prices to decline faster than our costs;
insufficient supply from captive flash memory sources, inability to obtain non-captive flash memory supply of the right product mix and quality in the time frame necessary to meet demand, or inability to realize a positive margin on non-captive purchases; and
the other risks detailed from time-to-time under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended October 2, 2011.
(1)GAAP represents U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
(2)Non-GAAP represents GAAP excluding the impact of share-based compensation expense, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, non-cash economic interest expense associated with the convertible debts, non-cash change in fair value of the liability component of the repurchased portion of the convertible debt, and related tax adjustments.
(3)Free cash flow represents net cash provided by operating activities plus net cash used in investing activities excluding net purchases, sales and maturities of short and long-term marketable securities.

ABOUT SANDISK
SanDisk Corporation is a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, from research and development, product design and manufacturing to branding and distribution for OEM and retail channels. Since 1988, SanDisk's innovations in flash memory and storage system technologies have provided customers with new and transformational digital experiences. SanDisk's diverse product portfolio includes flash memory cards and embedded solutions used in smart phones, tablets, digital cameras, camcorders, digital media players and other consumer electronic devices, as well as USB flash drives and solid-state drives (SSD) for the computing market. SanDisk's products are used by consumers and enterprise customers around the world.

SanDisk is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 and Fortune 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States. For more information, visit www.sandisk.com