Mobile phone maker Motorola’s third quarter profit beat forecasts after continuing to pare down production costs and eliminate jobs, the company reported today. Net income came in at $12 million, or $0.01 a share, compared to last years loss of $397 million, or $0.18 a share. Revenue, however, dove 27 percent to $5.45 billion, as mobile phone sales continued to plummet. Analysts had expected $5.34 billion in revenues.

Release | Presentation | Earnings Call

Yesterday, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) launched its second Android handset, Verizon’s Droid, built on the latest version of the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) mobile OS, one of its first hopes in restoring the company’s fortunes. Analysts have responded favorably to the device, though Motorola still has a long way to go. In the third quarter, its mobile devices unit saw sales plunge 46 percent to $1.7 billion, compared with a year ago. The unit, however, managed to reduce its operating loss to $183 million, compared with a loss of $840 million a year ago, and $253 million in the second quarter. Motorola’s total share of the handset market also continued to dwindle, sinking to 4.7 percent, after shipping 13.6 million handsets in the quarter.

Motorola has also announced that it had made acting CFO Edward J. Fitzpatrick its permanent choice. The 43-year old nine-year veteran of Motorola was installed as the company’s acting CFO in February 2009 after it terminated then-CFO Paul Liska.

Analysts were also hopeful that Motorola as a whole could turn itself around. Avian Securities analyst Matt Thornton told Bloomberg, “This is a rebuilt company, with new leadership and a new platform. If these guys are successful in making the transition to be a smart-phone player, the next four to six quarters could show some marked improvement.”

• Earnings: Motorola Makes Surprise Profit Even Before Turnaround Devices Hit Shelves For Holidays