Smartphone sales push Motorola above forecasts
MOTOROLA posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results yesterday, boosting its shares despite frustration it did not raise its phone sales target.
Investors had hoped the popularity of Motorola’s Droid X, its latest phone being championed by Verizon Wireless, would result in a new, higher forecast for 2010 smartphone sales.
Instead, Motorola, which is counting on sales of smartphones based on Google’s Android software for growth, affirmed its previous annual target.
The stronger-than-expected results, including a six-fold increase in profit, helped lift shares of Motorola. The company is selling its network equipment business this year and plans to split the rest of the company in two next year.
In the second quarter, it posted a profit of $162m (£104m), up from $26m the year before. Motorola shipped 8.3m phones in the quarter including 2.7m smartphones.