Motorola posts 3Q profit, names CFO
NEW YORK -- Motorola Inc. reported an unexpected quarterly profit Thursday as operating losses in its struggling mobile phone division narrowed. The company also forecast stronger-than-anticipated earnings for the current period.
Motorola shares jumped 34 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $8.30 in premarket trading.
The company, based in Schaumburg, Ill., earned $12 million, or a penny per share, in the three months ended Oct. 2. That compares with a loss of $397 million, or 18 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
Excluding unusual items, Motorola says its adjusted earnings were 2 cents per share. Analysts had expected a break-even quarter, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.
Sales fell 27 percent to $5.4 billion from $7.48 billion a year ago. Analysts were looking for $5.5 billion. The company shipped 13.6 million phones in the third quarter, compared with 14.8 million in the second.
For the quarter ending in December, Motorola projected adjusted earnings of 7 cents to 9 cents per share, while analysts expected 6 cents.
The company also said it has named Edward Fitzpatrick, Motorola's acting chief financial officer, as it permanent CFO.