Motorola Well Positioned for Holiday Cell Phone Sales
Portfolio of Features Includes Cameras, Color Screens
SCHAUMBURG, ILL. – September 26, 2003 – Mike Zafirovski, President and Chief Operating Officer of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), said today that “the company is well positioned for the holiday sales season, with many of its new cell phones featuring the color screens and integrated cameras that are popular with consumers all over the world.”
Consistent with the company’s prior guidance for its Personal Communications Segment (PCS), 15 new phones have begun to ship during the third quarter, 9 featuring color screens and 4 of these 9 also featuring integrated cameras. Zafirovski said that PCS sales for the third quarter are expected to increase at least 20 percent over second-quarter sales, and its operating margins will improve.
He also said, consistent with prior guidance, that the company expects to begin shipping at least 16 additional new phones in the fourth quarter, 12 featuring color screens and 8 of these 12 also featuring integrated cameras. PCS sales during the fourth quarter are expected to show further sequential growth over the third quarter, consistent with the normal seasonal strength seen in the handset industry. Operating margins in the fourth quarter are expected to improve over those in the third quarter. Fourth-quarter sales and operating earnings in 2003 also are expected to show improvement over the prior year’s fourth quarter.
“While we are encountering some variation in our introduction of certain new models, we believe PCS is making strong progress overall in its ability to meet market needs by working closely with customers all over the world and successfully testing and launching new products in a timely fashion throughout the year,” Zafirovski said. “This improvement is based on the implementation of hardware and software platforms that increase the productivity of our talented research and development organization within our PCS business.”