SANDISK ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2012 FINANCIAL RESULTS

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, announced today results for the first quarter ended April 1, 2012. Total first quarter revenue of $1.21 billion declined 7% on a year-over-year basis and declined 24% on a sequential basis.

On a GAAP(1) basis, first quarter net income was $114 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, compared to net income of $224 million, or $0.92, per diluted share in the first quarter of fiscal 2011 and $281 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

On a non-GAAP(2) basis, first quarter net income was $156 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, compared to net income of $251 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2011 and net income of $317 million, or $1.29 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. For reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP results, see accompanying financial tables and footnotes.

"Our first quarter results were adversely impacted by lower-than-expected pricing and demand weakness in certain segments and we expect similar trends in the second quarter as well," said Sanjay Mehrotra, president and chief executive officer. "We believe a seasonally stronger demand environment in the second half of the year, combined with our diversifying portfolio of mobile and SSD solutions, will allow us to deliver strong sequential revenue growth in the third and fourth quarters."

FIRST QUARTER 2012 KEY FINANCIAL METRICS

Metric
in millions of US$, except %
GAAP
Non - GAAP
Q112 Q111 Q411 Q112 Q111 Q411
Revenue $1,206 $1,294 $1,577 $1,206 $1,294 $1,577
Gross Profit
% of revenue $417
34.5% $552
42.6% $662
42.0% $432
35.8% $558
43.1% $676
42.9%
Operating Income
% of revenue $192
15.9% $349
27.0% $416
26.4% $227
18.8% $369
28.5% $449
28.5%
CONFERENCE CALL
SanDisk's first quarter of fiscal 2012 conference call is scheduled for 2:00 P.M., Pacific Time, Thursday, April 19, 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 719-234-0008 and the dial-in password is 4015842. 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, financial results, and pricing, seasonality and demand trends for the second quarter and second half of fiscal 2012, including the potential benefits of our diversifying portfolio of mobile and SSD products, 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2012.
(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 Company's convertible debt and related tax adjustments.

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 and enterprise markets. 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

SanDisk and the SanDisk logo are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder(s).

Q1 2012 Financial Tables

CONTACT:
Investor Contact: Media Contact:
Jay Iyer Lee Flanagin
(408) 801-2067 (408) 801-2463