Motorola quarterly earnings increase
Motorola reported first quarter 2005 net earnings of $692 million, a 14% increase over the $609 million reported in the same quarter last year. On a per-share basis, earnings increase 47%, to 28 cents per share from the 19 cents per share reported for first quarter 2004. Sales for Q1 2005 totaled $8.16 billion, a 10% increase from the $7.44 billion reported for Q1 2004.
Sales for the company’s Government and Enterprise Mobility Solutions Segment were $1.5 billion, a 4% increase year over year. Operating earnings were $167 million, a 20% decrease compared with the $209 million reported for the year-ago quarter. Motorola blamed the decrease on lower earnings in the automotive electronics business, which it said was caused by weak industry conditions for North American automotive manufacturers.
According to Motorola, Q1 2005 highlights for the sector included new contracts for its Motobridge IP-based interoperable wireless network in North Carolina and Kentucky, introduction of the Motomesh network that combines 4.9 GHz licensed mobile broadband radios and unlicensed Wi-Fi radios into a single access point, and a contract with Baltimore Gas & Electric for a 27-site Harmony wireless communications system that will support automated meter reading and mobile data.
Motorola said it expects Q2 2005 sales to range between $8.3 billion and $8.5 billion, with earnings per share in the range of 23 cents to 25 cents.
