Motorola swings to 1st-quarter loss

updated 8:29 a.m. ET April 18, 2007

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. - Cell phone and telecommunications equipment maker Motorola Corp. said Wednesday it slipped to a loss in the first quarter, hurt by a number of charges and lower-than-expected sales of mobile devices.

The Schaumburg-based company reported a loss of $181 million, or 8 cents per share, versus a profit of $686 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Last month, Motorola forecast a loss between 7 cents and 9 cents per share after the No. 2 cell phone maker revealed weak revenue in its handset unit. Motorola also replaced its chief financial officer, just weeks after the head of its handset unit resigned.

The latest quarter included charges totaling 11 cents per share from a legal settlement, restructuring and an acquisition. The costs were partially offset by a 1-cent gain. Excluding items, the company would have earned 2 cents in the latest period, matching Wall Street's consensus estimate, according to a Thomson Financial analyst poll.

Sales slid to $9.43 billion from $9.61 billion a year ago, coming in ahead of the $9.29 billion expected by the Street. Mobile devices sales fell 15 percent to $5.4 billion.

"The performance in our mobile devices business in the first quarter is unacceptable," said Chief Executive Ed Zander.

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