Motorola (NYSE: MOT) warned investors two weeks ago earnings might look ugly. Pointing to a drop in sales in its mobile devices unit, Motorola said Friday its 4Q profits fell 48 percent. Net profit for the last three months of 2006 was $624 million, or 25 cents per share, down from $1.2 billion, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier. Results included a net gain of 5 cents per share for various charges. Excluding those items, Motorola said earnings from continuing operations were 21 cents a share, or better than the 13 cents to 16 cents it forecast two weeks ago.
—Operating earnings from the mobile devices division, the company’s largest business, fell 49 percent to $341 million despite a 19 percent increase in sales to $7.8 billion
—Revenue was $11.8 billion, up 17 percent from $10 billion and slightly above Wall Street’s $11.7 billion estimate.
—Sales are expected to fall between $10.4 billion and $10.6 billion in the first quarter, in line with analysts’ forecast of $11.5 billion. The company has scheduled an analysts meeting later Friday in New York, during which executives would discuss the company’s plans to improve operating profitability.
—For the full year, net earnings were $3.67 billion, or $1.46 per share, down 20 percent from $4.58 billion, or $1.81 per share, in 2005. Sales rose 22 percent to $42.9 billion from $35.3 billion.
Update: The company also announced it will cut 3,500 jobs out of its 67,000-member workforce by mid-2007, saying the move will save about $400 million over two years. Earnings Release | Webcast.