NEW YORK: Mobile phone maker Motorola Inc. posted an 86 per cent increase in its fourth quarter net earnings at $1.2 billion, aided by demand for its popular brands, including the latest Razr. Sales rose 18 per cent to $10.43 billion, just falling short of market expectations, and this led to a fall in its shares immediately after only for a recovery in later trading.
The company has forecast revenue of $9.3 billion to $9.5 billion for its first quarter 2006, which is in line with market estimates.
Excluding certain items, including a gain from a settlement with Turkish network operator Telsim and tax adjustments, earnings were 35 cents per share.
Motorola said mobile handset shipments increased by 40 per cent compared to the corresponding previous year quarter and revenue in the unit went up 30 per cent to $6.5 billion. It shipped record 13 million phones from the Razr family during the quarter and launched 26 new handsets, several of them variations of the Razr.
Motorola has some 19 per cent of global handset market, at No 2 position after Nokia.
Earnings rose 41 per cent in the government unit and 40 per cent in the connected home unit. There was a fall of 8 per cent in earnings in the networks segment.
For the full year, the company tripled its net earnings to $4.58 billion, or $1.81 a share, up from $1.53 billion, or 64 cents a share, in 2004. Revenue stood at $36.8 billion, up 18 per cent from $31.3 billion.
The company's shares slid by $1.19, or 5 per cent, to $23.16 in after-hours trade from a close at $24.35 on the New York Stock Exchange before the announcement of results.
Posted
on : Sat, 21 Jan 2006 08:30 GMT | Business News
By : Mark Richardson
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