Milpitas, Calif. - Shares of SanDisk (NASD: SNDK) dropped 24% on Tuesday, a day after the maker of flash storage cards and MP3 players reported a second-quarter loss that sunk well below analyst expectations.

The company said that it recorded a net loss of $68 million last quarter, down from a profit of $28 million the year before.

"Our second quarter sales were well below our expectations due to the rapid deterioration in consumer confidence," said Eli Harari, SanDisk's chairman and CEO.

"Overall demand is expected to improve in the upcoming holiday season; however, industry-wide Flash inventories remain excessive and pricing and margins will therefore remain under pressure until supply and demand come into balance."

The stock closed down $4.31 to $13.62 after sinking to a five-year low earlier in the day.

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