|
Motorola 1Q beats Street
|
 |
April 13, 1999: 7:23 p.m. ET
Cost cuts, chip rebound and sales of digital cell phones help brighten outlook
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Motorola Inc. reported first-quarter net income Tuesday that beat analysts' targets as the mobile phone and computer chip maker cited signs of growth on the horizon.
Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola (MOT) reported first-quarter net income of $171 million, or 28 cents per share, compared to $180 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago period.
The year-ago results include a one-time gain from the sale of assets and settlement of patent claims. Aside from those gains, operating profit a year ago was 23 cents per share.
First-quarter 1999 operating profit was also 28 cents per share.
Analysts polled by First Call Corp. expected Motorola to report first quarter earnings of 24 cents per share. First quarter sales climbed 5 percent to $7.2 billion.
Motorola executives credited an increase in market share for digital wireless phones, cost reduction efforts and a return to profitability in its computer chip business. The company said it was optimistic about coming quarters.
"At this stage, it appears that the momentum from our accelerated profit improvement effort will continue in the second quarter," Christopher Galvin, Motorola's chief executive, said in a statement.
"We may do slightly better in sales and in profitability than present consensus expectations of the investment community," Galvin added. "The longer-term business climate is improving, although we believe it is premature to increase consensus sales and earnings estimates for the full year of 1999 beyond their present levels."
Weak economies in some of its markets will affect Motorola's growth, but Galvin added that Motorola has begun to see signs of recovery in parts of Asia, while the U.S. economy remains strong.
Among the standout business segments for Motorola during the first quarter was its chip operations, which reversed their operating loss of $57 million a year ago to an operating profit of $48 million in the first quarter of 1999.
Motorola makes the Power-PC chip used in Apple Computer (AAPL) products. The sign of rebound in the chip segment comes against a backdrop of weakness for several premier chip companies.
Shares of Motorola rose 1-3/8 to 82-15/16 in New York Stock Exchange trading ahead of the report Tuesday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Motorola
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
