Subject:
Motorola (NYSE:MOT) sees paging margins shrinking
Date:
Fri, 18 Jul 1997 22:13:10 -0700 (PDT)
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News Alert from Reuters via Quote.com
Topic: Motorola Inc
Quote.com News Item #3429249
Headline: Motorola (NYSE:MOT) sees paging margins shrinking
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CHICAGO, July 17 (Reuter) - Motorola Inc said Thursday it
expects operating margins in its worldwide paging group will
shrink but sees continued growth in the number of pager users.
At its annual analysts' meeting, the technology giant said
it expects international pager use to be a main driver behind
industry growth, but also sees the U.S. industry continuing to
grow despite recent issues.
In the first half of the year, Motorola said the U.S.
paging industry reduced its inventory levels, therefore slowing
orders of new Motorola pagers -- a situation the company
expects will continue. In addition, the China market
traditionally peaks in the second quarter.
"We estimate the U.S. paging industry will continue to grow
at a healthy rate," Frank Lloyd, general manager of Motorola's
Messaging Systems Products Group.
He said one industry group has pegged the U.S. market
growing to 62 million users by the year 2000 -- up from 38 to
40 million in 1996.
"Our internal projections are even more bullish," Lloyd
said of the U.S. market.
"We expect to see some pressure on margins in the next few
quarters," Lloyd said. He said the company does not disclose
group margin numbers.
Nonetheless, Motorola sees continued growth worldwide. The
number of global paging subscribers topped 115 million in 1996,
with Latin America and China leading the way in pager
subscriber growth. In addition, sales of pagers for personal
use rather than business, and especially among teenagers, are
also expected to increase, Lloyd said.
Copyright 1997, Reuters News Service |
