Motorola announced its anticipated poor numbers for the fourth quarter of 2011, as it joined the ranks of handset vendors struggling during the period.
For the three months, the company reported a loss of US$80 million, compared with a prior-year profit of US$80 million, on revenue which was flat at US$3.44 billion. The Mobile Devices business saw an operating loss of US$70 million, compared to a Q4 2010 profit of US$72 million, on revenue of US$2.5 billion, up 5 percent, “impacted by the increased competitive environment.”
It shipped 10.5 million mobile devices during the period, including 5.3 million smartphones and 200,000 tablets. This compares with 11.3 million devices, with 4.9 million smartphones, in Q4 2010.
Motorola joins
Sony Ericsson and
HTC in reporting lacklustre numbers for the fourth quarter.
For the full year, Motorola reported a net loss of US$249 million, compared with a prior-year loss of US$86 million, on revenue of US$13.1 billion, up 14 percent.
North America remains Motorola’s biggest market, accounting for 48 percent of sales during the period – although this is down from 63 percent in Q4 2010. Other significant markets for the company are Latin America (22 percent) and Greater China (15 percent).
In a statement, Sanjay Jha, chairman and CEO of the company (pictured), said that “we remain energised by the proposed merger with Google and continue to focus on creating innovative technologies.”
The company noted that the transactions remain subject to “various closing conditions.” With probes still open in markets including the US, Canada and Europe, Motorola expects the deal to close “in early 2012.”