Motorola managed to exceed analysts’ estimates in its third quarter thanks to the solid performance of its network equipment unit and the continued strong demand and sales for its Android-based smartphones.
As Enterprise Mobile Today reports, Motorola moved more smartphone units than expected and returned its wireless device unit to profitability a good quarter or two ahead of schedule as consumers and enterprises continue to snap up the devices running Google’s popular mobile operating system.
Company officials noted that so far this year, Motorola pushed out 22 new smartphone models, including a trio of devices in China and while rumors continue to swirl about the possibility of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) bringing its iPhone line to Verizon Wireless, it’s confident that there’s plenty of smartphone business to go around.
After years of enduring an unfettered free fall, Motorola’s mobile device business rallied to deliver a profit in third quarter, the first time that’s happened in three years, almost exclusively on the back of strong demand for Android-based smartphones like the Droid X.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) said its mobile phone unit returned an operating profit of $3 million in the third quarter, and shipped more than 9.1 million phone — including 3.8 million smartphones. In the year-ago quarter, Motorola’s mobile phone unit lost $183 million as the company continued to lose relevance in a market it once dominated.
In total, the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company pocketed $109 million, or $0.05 a share, on sales of $5.8 billion, up 6 percent from the third quarter of last year.