Shares of Motorola Inc, the world's second-largest maker of mobile phones, surged in extended trading in the US and gained in Japan after first-quarter profit tripled and handset sales advanced 67 percent.
Motorola shares rose US$3.29, or 20 percent, to US$19.51 in after-hours trading on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The results were released after the close of regular US trading.
The Japan-traded shares rose ?150 to ?2,100 as of midday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after 3,700 shares were traded.
Chief executive Edward Zander, 57 said the company is winning back market share with new phones equipped with cameras, color screens and MP3 music players. Nokia Oyj of Finland, the No. 1 handset maker, is losing share and revenue as rivals sell lower-priced phones.
"Motorola has the right products and Nokia doesn't," said Paul Sagawa, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co in New York, who has a "market perform" rating on Motorola shares and doesn't own them.
"The question is what will things look like in the second half of the year for Motorola," he said.
Motorola's net income advanced to US$609 million, or US$0.25 a share, from US$169 million, or US$0.07 a share, in the year-earlier period, the Schaumburg, Illinois-based company said in a statement. Sales rose 42 percent to US$8.6 billion.
Motorola earned US$0.19 a share in the first quarter, excluding certain items. On that basis, Motorola was expected to have a profit of US$0.07, the average estimate of 34 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Nokia this month said first-quarter sales unexpectedly fell 2 percent as smaller competitors like Samsung Electronics Co, Siemens AG and LG Electronics Inc sell cheaper cameras with cameras and color screens.
Motorola's second-quarter sales will be as much as US$8.6 billion and earnings per share will be as much as US$0.18 a share. The company was expected to have a profit of US$0.09 in the second quarter, according to the average estimate of 33 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Second-quarter revenue of US$6.92 billion was forecast by 20 analysts in the survey.
Handset sales in the second quarter will rise as much as 80 percent from a year earlier, Chief operating officer Mike Zafirovski told analysts on a conference call. Market-share gains in Europe and Southeast Asia helped drive first-quarter handset sales higher, he said in an interview.
Motorola's average phone price rose 16 percent in the first quarter compared with the year-earlier period, Zafirovski said.
Camera phones typically are more expensive than non-camera handsets.
Handset sales rose 67 percent to US$4.1 billion in the first quarter as the company shipped 25.3 million phones, the highest ever and a 51 percent increase from a year earlier.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source