Motorola Predicts Unexpected (84%)Loss After Profit Slump

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Motorola Inc., the biggest U.S. mobile-phone maker, forecast an unexpected loss after profit fell 84 percent last quarter, as customers fled to Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.

Motorola fell 16 percent to $10.30 in early trading. That puts the stock at its lowest since September 2003, when then- Chief Executive Officer Chris Galvin was planning to step down after market share losses to larger rival Nokia Oyj.

Phone sales will drop ``significantly'' in the next three months after plunging 38 percent in the fourth quarter, CEO Greg Brown said today on a conference call. Motorola devices such as the Razr 2, the sequel to its best-selling model, are failing to keep consumers away from Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Sync camera handset.

``Their phones are just not selling through, they're struggling with their lineup,'' Piper Jaffray & Co.'s Michael Walkley said in an interview. ``The overall health of the market is fine; these problems are Motorola-specific.'' The Minneapolis- based analyst advises investors to hang on to the stock and doesn't own any himself.

The company predicted a first-quarter loss of 5 cents to 7 cents a share, excluding costs for job cuts and other items. Analysts on average projected a profit of 10 cents.

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