Motorola Earnings Double; Biogen Misses Analysts’ Target
With nervous investors watching closely, some major technology companies reported mixed first-quarter earnings on Monday.
Motorola Inc. said its first-quarter profit more than doubled amid strong sales of cellular phones and computer chips.
But Biogen Inc., a major biotech firm, came up short in its results.
Motorola, the world’s No. 2 wireless phone maker said it earned $449 million, or 59 cents a share, excluding charges relating to the acquisition of General Instrument as well as certain one-time gains. That was up from $184 million, or 26 cents, a year ago, before one-time items.
Analysts were expecting 58 cents, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. So-called whisper numbers--or unpublished estimates--were running as high as 62 cents.
Motorola said the acquisition of leading set-top box maker General Instrument also helped revenue, which jumped 19% to $8.8 billion.
“We are especially pleased by the results in our new broadband communications sector, which was formed after the merger with General Instrument, the improvements in our network systems business, and the sequential growth in quarterly earnings for semiconductors,” Robert Growney, Motorola’s president, said in a statement.
In the semiconductor products segment--a closely watched area because Motorola is among the first major technology companies to report earnings--operating profit climbed to $123 million from $10 million as sales increased 24%.
In Motorola’s personal communications segment, profit declined to $49 million from $83 million, hurt by a shift in the wireless phone product mix toward low-tier products with smaller margins, higher costs for certain components in short supply, and significantly higher investments in engineering and advertising. The segment’s sales rose 24%.
Profit jumped 45% in the network systems segment, which includes Motorola’s wireless infrastructure business, as sales grew 11%. Ahead of the earnings news Motorola shares fell $3.75 to $150 on the New York Stock Exchange.
