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Strategies & Market Trends : Technical analysis for shorts & longs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (19259)	1/10/1999 6:31:00 PM
From: xcr600	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 68149

Thanks Harry. Am I correct in assuming that the stock will trade in similar price ranges after accounting for the differences in currency? x

To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (19259)	1/12/1999 12:34:00 AM
From: Clint E.	Respond to of 68149

Friday Jan 8, Motorola Q4 expected to gain from cost cuts By Susan Nadeau CHICAGO, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Motorola Inc. is expected to report a 65 percent decline in fourth quarter profits next week, but analysts hope to see more benefits from dramatic restructuring actions taken during the year and further signs that the worst is over in the technology giant's troubled semiconductor and wireless phone businesses. Finishing off a year that threatened the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company with its first quarterly loss in more than a decade, analysts on average expect Motorola to report earnings of $0.23 a share. While the profit is far below the $0.65 excluding special items earned the prior year, it would show a definite improvement from the near break-even results seen in the second quarter and the small profit in the third. Quarterly revenues are expected near the previous year's levels of $8.3 billion, with some analysts estimates as low as $7.9 billion. Motorola posted 1997 revenues of $29.8 billion. A Motorola spokesman declined comment on the estimates. ''My suspicion is they'll show a stronger-than-expected performance on the bottom line, but primarily driven by cost-cutting and restructuring,'' said Hambrecht & Quist analyst Eric Zimits, who at $0.22 a share is near the bottom of the estimate range. ''But it's a company in transition, so I'm not holding my breath.'' Last summer, Motorola restructured, vowing to exit profit-sapping businesses and slashing 15,000 jobs in order to dramatically cut costs. In the third quarter, Motorola said $140 million of the targeted $750 million in savings were already in place and SG Cowen & Co. analyst Wojtek Uzdelewicz expects the company to have saved another $200 million in the fourth quarter. ''It's not going to be hugely optimistic, but it's going to be another step toward feeling comfortable,'' Uzdeliwicz said. In addition to the cost cutting, analysts said they see two areas in particular boosting optimism. First, a lengthy worldwide slump in semiconductor sales, exacerbated by the economic turmoil in Asia, appears to be turning around. And second, after initial delays, Motorola is shipping various long-awaited digital wireless phones. ''New orders will be particularly important if we're going to have solid evidence that Motorola is a participant in the overall recovery in the (semiconductor) industry,'' said Robert Wilkes, an analyst with Brown Brothers Harriman. Analysts overall are relieved Motorola did not issue an earnings warning, and some estimates have been creeping higher--as high as $0.29 a share. ''The drivers are primarily the cost savings, and if anything they're running ahead of schedule,'' said Eric Buck, an analyst with Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. Motorola, which historically kicks off the quarterly earnings season, will report its results after the market closes on Wednesday. Shares of Motorola traded up 2-1/4 at 70-1/2, after reaching a new 52-week high of 71.