Motorola fourth-quarter profits more than triple
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Jan 17 (Reuters) - Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - news), the world's
second-largest wireless telephone handset maker, said on Monday its fourth-quarter profits
more than tripled, topping Wall Street forecasts, on strong wireless phone sales.
The Schaumburg, Ill.-based maker of computer chips and telecommunications equipment said operating profit, excluding
one-time items, rose to $514 million, or 82 cents per share, from $159 million, or 26 cents per share, in the year-earlier
quarter.
On average, analysts were forecasting 81 cents per share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial estimates.
Ahead of the news, shares in Motorola closed Friday up 11-8/16 at 150-1/16. The U.S. stock markets were closed on
Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day.
Motorola's share price has more than doubled in the last year, powered by explosive demand for wireless phones. The stock
price was also boosted by a turnaround in the global semiconductor market and internal cost cuts which boosted profits.
In 1998, the company announced a sweeping restructuring plan and slashed thousands of jobs in an effort to cut costs and
improve profits. Those efforts began to pay off later that year, but Motorola's fourth-quarter 1998 profits still fell 60 percent
from the the prior year's level.
More Quotes and News:
Motorola Inc (NYSE:MOT - news)
Related News Categories: US Market News |
