Cellphone sales hurt Motorola

Motorola Inc., the world’s second-biggest maker of mobile phones, said Wednesday that it would post a loss in the second quarter after sales missed its forecasts for the third time this year.

The announcement stepped up pressure on Chief Executive Ed Zander. He may have until the end of the year before investors push for a replacement, said James Faucette, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Ore.

After markets closed, Motorola predicted a loss of as much as 4 cents a share in the second quarter. Sales came to $8.6 billion to $8.7 billion, the company said, well behind the $9.4 billion it had forecast.

Motorola shares slipped to $17.65 in after-hours trading. They had risen 33 cents to $17.95 in regular trading.

Rivals Nokia Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. are winning market share with new devices. Motorola has struggled to create a phone to replace its best-selling Razr, leaving the company without a rival to Apple Inc.’s new iPhone.

“People were expecting a bad quarter and got worse than they were even looking for,” said Mark McKechnie, an analyst at American Technology Research.

Motorola had been looking for a new president of the mobile-phone business, and on Wednesday named Stu Reed to the post. He had served as executive vice president in charge of Motorola’s supply chain.

Nokia had its widest market-share lead over Motorola in more than three years in the first quarter, according to researcher Strategy Analytics. Motorola’s share of sales slid to 18% while Nokia’s widened to 36%.