Motorola eyes splitting the firm in January
MOTOROLA is aiming to split the company into two separate units as early as January, according to co-chief executive Greg Brown, who will take the top job at its government and business division.
Motorola previously said it would split in two in the first quarter creating Motorola Mobility, which will sell mobile phones and television set-top boxes and Motorola Solutions, which sells wireless technology to governments and businesses.
Brown, who will head Motorola Solutions, said he expects revenue growth in a range of four per cent to five per cent in 2011 and set a long-term growth target of five per cent to eight per cent.
This is a slower growth rate than Motorola Solutions’ target for growth in a seven per cent to eight per cent range for 2010 as this years projected revenue of $7.7bn (£4.8bn) to $7.8bn, looks unusually strong in comparison with very weak 2009 sales because of economic weakness last year.
The company expects revenue at its proprietary iDen network equipment business to fall to $300m in 2011 from $400m in 2010. It had previously expected a decline in sales as US operator Sprint Nextel Corp cuts spending on its iDen network.