Motorola posts another tiny quarterly profit, phone division not yet pulling its weight (update)

Moto's earnings for the first quarter came out today, and they pretty much echo what the company managed to do in the fourth quarter of 2009 -- pull a small profit thanks to performance from the Home, Enterprise Mobility, and Network groups in the face of an operating loss from the Mobile Devices (read: phones) division. Unfortunately, all of the numbers are just a little bit worse across the board; Motorola didn't have any Droid-style blockbuster launches or major gift-giving holidays to help it along this quarter, and ended up dropping $192 million in the hole compared to $132 million in the quarter prior. Co-CEO Sanjay Jha still seems upbeat, though -- and he'd better, considering that he'll lead the spun-off phone division after the breakup -- pointing out that shipments actually increased in the quarter with the release of six new handsets. When you throw all the numbers together, the combined company posted $69 million in earnings, down from $142 million in the fourth quarter; hey, that's still better than a loss, especially considering that it's estimating considerably higher earnings in the current quarter. Follow the break for Motorola's release.

Update: Despite the slight profit, poor phone sales may have finally cost Motorola the stateside mobile crown. The Associated Press is reporting that with 8.8 million iPhones sold in Q1, Apple has edged out Motorola as the largest phone maker in the US.

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Motorola Announces First-Quarter 2010 Financial Results
April 29, 2010

Financial Highlights

* First-quarter sales of $5.0 billion
* First-quarter GAAP earnings of .03 per share, compared to a loss from continuing operations of .13 per share in first quarter 2009; first-quarter 2010 GAAP earnings include income of .01 per share from highlighted items
* Total cash* of $8.5 billion, a sequential increase of $455 million
* Enterprise Mobility Solutions sales of $1.7 billion; operating earnings of $141 million
* Mobile Devices sales of $1.6 billion; shipped 8.5 million handsets, including 2.3 million smartphones; operating loss of $192 million
* Networks sales of $896 million; operating earnings of $112 million
* Home sales of $838 million; operating earnings of $20 million

Click here to view the financial tables that are an integral part of this release.
Click here to view additional financial information.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – April 29, 2010 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today reported sales of $5.0 billion in the first quarter of 2010. The GAAP earnings in the first quarter of 2010 were $69 million, or .03 per share, which compares to a GAAP loss from continuing operations of $291 million, or .13 per share, in the first quarter of 2009.

First-quarter 2010 GAAP earnings include net income of .01 per share from highlighted items, which are described at the end of the press release. GAAP earnings per share also include non-cash expenses for stock-based compensation and amortization of intangibles totaling .04 per share in the first quarter of 2010. Further details are outlined at the end of this press release.

During the quarter, the Company generated positive operating cash flow of $485 million and ended the quarter with a total cash* position of $8.5 billion.

"We continue to execute on our business strategy, build momentum in smartphones and improve our operating performance. During the quarter, we increased smartphone shipments sequentially and introduced six new devices," said Sanjay Jha, Motorola co-chief executive officer and CEO of Mobile Devices and Home. "We are in a strong position to improve our share in the rapidly growing smartphone market, particularly in light of our competitive portfolio, strengthened brand and improved carrier relationships."

Jha added, "The Mobile Devices and Home businesses are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the convergence of mobile experiences and home entertainment. We remain focused on developing next-generation products to capitalize on the opportunities of this dynamic market."

"Our Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks businesses performed very well during the quarter, delivering strong operating earnings and excellent cash generation," said Greg Brown, Motorola co-chief executive officer and CEO of Motorola Solutions. "These businesses continue to deliver best-in-class market leadership and financial returns."

Operating Results

Mobile Devices segment sales were $1.6 billion, down 9 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. The GAAP operating loss was $192 million, a significant improvement compared to the operating loss of $545 million in the year-ago quarter.

Mobile Devices highlights:

* Shipped 8.5 million units, including 2.3 million smartphones; continued to strengthen North America position and shipped smartphones to carrier, distributor and retail customers globally
* Introduced six new Android-powered smartphones: BACKFLIP™, QUENCH™/CLIQ XT™, DEVOUR™, as well as three products designed for the Asia market, the MOTO XT701, MT710 and XT800, bringing our smartphone portfolio to eight
* Introduced SHOP4APPS, an application store, currently available for our consumers in China to enhance their Motorola Android experience

Home segment sales were $838 million, down 18 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. GAAP operating earnings were $20 million, compared to $3 million in the year-ago quarter.

Home highlights:

* Shipped 3.1 million digital entertainment devices
* Announced QIP eco-friendly set-top boxes for Verizon FiOS™ customers
* Introduced innovative 3DTV set-tops for cable, significantly enhancing 3D experience for consumers
* Strengthened North America position and secured wins with four customers to support the delivery of ultra-broadband triple play services

Enterprise Mobility Solutions segment sales were $1.7 billion, up 6 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. GAAP operating earnings were $141 million, compared with operating earnings of $66 million in the year-ago quarter.

Enterprise Mobility Solutions highlights:

* Secured one of the single largest TETRA terminal contracts ever awarded in Europe, including more than 50,000 terminals, from the German Federal Ministry of Interior
* Received several North America contracts, including a number of multi-million dollar awards from cities, and three statewide expansion wins, including Michigan and Wyoming
* Announced a series of rugged digital bar code scanners for harsh industrial environments, and launched the first cordless digital imager designed for healthcare
* Continued momentum in retail and in transportation and logistics, including a win with Con-Way, a leader in freight transportation and logistics, for the selection of the MC75 mobile computers

Networks segment sales were $896 million, down 7 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. GAAP operating earnings were $112 million, compared to $62 million in the year-ago quarter.

Networks highlights:

* Announced contract with Zain for the first LTE network deployment in Saudi Arabia
* Achieved first over-the-air TD-LTE data sessions at the Expo Center for World Expo 2010 in Shanghai; selected by China Mobile Communications Corporation to provide indoor TD-LTE coverage at the World Expo
* Shipped 2 millionth WiMAX CPE and dongles, doubling cumulative shipments in just five months

Second-Quarter 2010 Outlook

The Company's outlook for the second quarter of 2010 is for earnings of .07 to .09 per share. This outlook now excludes stock-based compensation and amortization of intangibles expenses of approximately .04 per share, as well as charges associated with items of the variety typically highlighted by the Company in its quarterly earnings releases.