Motorola profits surpass market expectations

Motorola last night posted a quarterly profit that was twice Wall Street estimates due to surprisingly strong demand for its …

Motorola last night posted a quarterly profit that was twice Wall Street estimates due to surprisingly strong demand for its cell phones.

The world's number two mobile phone maker also forecast stronger-than-expected sales in its current fourth quarter and said earnings could top analysts estimates.

Shares of Motorola rose almost 3 per cent in heavy trade as optimism on the results outweighed concerns over a ratings downgrade by Moody's on Friday.

Analysts were satisfied with the third-quarter results but were wary about the outlook for the cell phone unit for the fourth quarter - traditionally the industry's strongest season.

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Motorola, which moved up its reporting date by a day after the Moody's downgrade, reported a third-quarter net profit of $116 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with $111 million, or five cents a share, last year.

Excluding one-time items, Motorola posted a profit of six cents a share, double what analysts had expected on average according to Reuters Research.

Sales for the quarter rose almost 5 per cent to $6.83 billion.