NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Motorola Inc. posted the biggest net loss in company history during the second quarter even though it beat Wall Street expectations, the wireless equipment manufacturer said Tuesday, citing restructuring costs.

The company, which has been struggling with an industry-wide slump in demand, reported a net loss of $2.3 billion, or $1.02 a share, in the quarter, including a $2.4 billion after-tax charge related to restructuring and 7,000 job cuts announced on June 27. That's wider than the $759 million, or 35 cents a share, net loss it reported a year earlier.

The biggest net loss Motorola ever had before now was $1.3 billion in the third quarter of 1998, company spokesman Scott Wyman said.

Motorola has been pushing to bring itself down to its mid 1990s size on the premise that demand may never return to the soaring levels of that time.

At the time it cut the jobs, Motorola had predicted a return to profitability in the third and fourth quarter and reaffirmed full-year forecasts of 4 cents a share, prompted analysts to raise their forecasts a penny.

Excluding charges in the latest quarter, the world's No. 2 maker of cellular phone handsets posted a profit of $48 million, or 2 cents a share, much improved from the loss of $238 million, or 11 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by earnings tracker First Call anticipated a loss of 4 cents a share.

Second-quarter sales declined 11 percent to $6.7 billion from $7.5 billion.

Shares of Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola (MOT: Research, Estimates) were up 47 cents at $15 in after-hours trading Tuesday after finishing the regular session up 69 cents to finish at $14.53.

Motorola's results came as other tech heavyweights posted gloomy results. Intel Corp.'s (INTC: Research, Estimates) second quarter results fell shy of already-reduced forecasts while Apple Computer (AAPL: Research, Estimates) warned about the fourth quarter and posted sharply lower second quarter results that matched expectations.

The company said it had $6.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at the end of the quarter and $1.5 billion in short-term debt, about $500 million of which was in commercial paper.

The company said its Personal Communications Segment, or the handset business, posted sales of $2.6 billion, up 5 percent from a year ago, while orders fell 11 percent. It said it expects sales to increase quarter to quarter through the rest of the year in that business.

The handset business posted net earnings of $3 million, compared with a loss last year of $593 million. Excluding one-time items, the unit posted a gain of $172 million. Motorola said its global market share in cell phones is about 18 percent, up from 17 percent in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Motorola's money-losing semiconductor unit saw sales fall 3 percent to $1.2 billion, while orders rose 25 percent. The company said the global semiconductor industry continues to show indications of gradual quarter-over-quarter recovery from the sharp recession it experienced in 2001.

The chip unit posted a net loss of $1.3 billion, compared with a loss last year of $444 million. Excluding special items, the loss was $79 million.

"Not only have we announced the actions that will substantially complete the company's restructuring program but, excluding the impact of special items, we returned to profitability one quarter earlier than previously expected," Motorola President Edward Breen said in a statement.

CEO Christopher Galvin cited the company's push over the last two years to restructure itself down to its mid-1990s size, streamlining manufacturing capacity and total costs, for helping Motorola restore profitability 90 days earlier than planned.

Motorola's stock was boosted on Tuesday by Nextel Communications Inc., the nation's No. 5 wireless telephone company, which reported a profit for the first time as its revenue rose 25 percent and it bought back some of its debt. Motorola is Nextel's exclusive cell phone provider and has a small stake in the wireless operator.

From staff and wire reports.