SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc.’s second-quarter 2004 earnings reflected strong year-over-year growth with the exception of a hefty net loss due to the spin-off of its semiconductor business.
The company reported sales of $8.7 billion for the second quarter of 2004, up 41 percent from $6.2 billion in sales for the year-ago period. Meanwhile, Motorola recorded a loss of $203 million, or 9 cents per share, including an expense of $898 million, or 38 cents per share, related to the initial public offering of Freescale Semiconductor Inc. Pre-tax earnings were $800 million and net earnings were $119 million, or 5 cents per share, for the quarter.
For the personal communications segment, sales hit $3.9 billion, up 67 percent compared with last year’s second quarter, and operating earnings stood at $394 million, also up from last year’s $91 million. Motorola pointed to the success of new products for both increases. The company said it shipped 24.1 million handsets, more than double units shipped for the year-ago period. Included were 17 new handsets-15 with color displays and seven with integrated cameras.
Motorola expects overall sales to be between $8.4 billion and $8.8 billion for the third quarter with earnings between 15 cents and 19 cents per share.
Shares of Motorola were up 5.84 percent at $17.03 in after-hours trading Tuesday following the news.
Along with its earnings, Motorola announced Tom Lynch, executive vice president and president of the personal communications sector, will leave the company at the end of the summer, citing personal reasons. The company said it will announce a successor in the future.
