Motorola’s fortunes back on track with US$5.4bn quarter

29 Jul 2010

Motorola is once again asserting itself in the mobile devices business and has reported a profitable second quarter with sales of US$5.4bn and profits of US$162m, up from profits of US$26m last year.

Motorola generated positive operating cash flow of US$242m, reduced long-term debt through a US$500m tender offer and ended the quarter with total cash of US$8.3bn.

“In the second quarter, our Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks businesses continued to deliver best-in-class market leadership and financial returns, with strong operating earnings and excellent cash generation,” said Greg Brown, Motorola co-chief executive officer and CEO of Motorola Solutions.

“In addition, last week we announced that Nokia Siemens Networks will acquire the majority of our Networks business. We are very proud of the operational and financial performance of our Networks business and are excited to have reached this agreement to combine our Networks team with such an industry leader,” Brown continued.

Motorola grabs Google Android

During the second quarter, Motorola made strong use of the Google Android operating system to deliver popular mobile devices, including the DROID X, with a 4.3-inch high-resolution display and powerful 1 GHz processor.

The company also introduced the world’s first push-to-talk Android-powered smartphone, the FLIPOUT. The current Motorola smartphone portfolio consists of 12 devices.

“The Droid X launch has been very well received and is seen as one of the best smartphones in the market today, with a 4.3-inch high-resolution display, Adobe flash and an 8-megapixel camera,” said Sanjay Jha, Motorola co-chief executive officer and CEO of Motorola Mobility.

“As we continue to execute on our business strategy, we are in a strong position to continue improving our share in the rapidly growing smartphone market and improving our operating performance.

“The Mobile Devices and Home businesses remain focused on developing next-generation products to capitalise on the convergence of mobile experiences and home entertainment,” said Jha.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com