14 DAY TRIAL // Motorola has just announced its Q3 2010 financial results and it looks like things are working great for the US-based handset manufacturer. This is the company's first growth quarter since Q4 2006. Sales in the third quarter look better than ever before with a whopping 13% year over year increase to $4.9 billion. Motorola's mobile division sold 9.1 million devices of which 3.8 million were smartphones, bringing the revenue to $2 billion, up 20% from last year. Motorola stated that its total cash* increased to $9.0 billion.
“In the third quarter, Motorola Mobility showed positive momentum across the business, with Mobile Devices reaching profitability for the first time in over three years and Home continues to maintain its leadership position,” said Sanjay Jha, Motorola co-chief executive officer and Motorola Mobility CEO.
“Mobile Devices’ DROID X continues to sell extremely well, and we have had several other successful smartphone launches globally, including the DROID 2, the MING series in China, as well as a well-received introduction of our enterprise-ready DROID PRO. As we continue to make progress across the organization, we remain focused on further improving our financial results and pursuing the delivery of best-in-class software and hardware experiences to consumers and business users,” added Jha.
There's no doubt about it, Motorola was saved from bankruptcy by Verizon Wireless and its own DROID line of smartphones.
The company's new development policy, focused on growing the DROID portfolio with at least three new devices (DROID 2, DROID PRO and the limited edition DROID R2-D2), may take Motorola closer to the lead on the US smartphone market where it is fiercely competing with Samsung and Apple.
However, things will get more heated for Motorola when/if Verizon Wireless launches Apple's CDMA-compatible iPhone, which is rumored to hit the shelves next year.
*Motorola defines total cash as cash and cash equivalents + Sigma Fund (current and non-current) and short-term investments.