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Motorola Profit Plummets 84% in Q4

Mobile-phone maker loses market share to Apple, Samsung

By Jim O'Neill,  Newser User

Posted Jan 23, 2008 7:25 AM CST
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(Newser) – Motorola, blaming loss of market share to Apple and Samsung, today reported a fourth-quarter profit plunge of 84%. The nation’s largest mobile-phone maker said phone shipments fell 38%, and sales fell 18.2%. Reviving its ailing cellphone unit will take longer than expected, Motorola said, forecasting a loss next quarter. New CEO Greg Brown said the first quarter would be “challenging.”

Motorola’s top phone, Razr 2, is in a losing battle with Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Sync. Brown will broaden Motorola’s handset line to win back share, but phone development will take several quarters, experts tell Bloomberg. The company said Q4 net income dropped to $100 million, or 4 cents a share, from $623 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier.

An undated photo provided by Motorola Inc. shows new chief executive Greg Brown. Brown replaced Ed Zander Jan. 1, 2008, and will try to end a slump without a Razr-like hit that his predecessor had when he arrived at the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company four years ago. (AP Photo/Motorola Inc....
An undated photo provided by Motorola Inc. shows new chief executive Greg Brown. Brown replaced Ed Zander Jan. 1, 2008, and will try to end a slump without a Razr-like hit that his predecessor had when...   (Associated Press)
A Motorola Razr cell phone is seen at a consumer electronics store in Gloucester, Mass., in this Jan. 19, 2007, file photo. New Motorla CEO Greg Brown, who took over the position from predecessor Ed Zander Jan. 1, 2008, will try to end a slump without a Razr-like hit that...
A Motorola Razr cell phone is seen at a consumer electronics store in Gloucester, Mass., in this Jan. 19, 2007, file photo. New Motorla CEO Greg Brown, who took over the position from predecessor Ed Zander...   (Associated Press)
Verizon Wireless provided this photo of a Motorola Moto Q 9m smart phone. (AP Photo/Verizon/Thomas Burke, ho)
Verizon Wireless provided this photo of a Motorola Moto Q 9m smart phone. (AP Photo/Verizon/Thomas Burke, ho)   (Associated Press)
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