Its market share figures have dropped to No. 3 worldwide, its stock has plummeted 20 percent since last fall, a Facebook group calls itself "My Motorola makes a better coaster than a phone," which leaves the American cell phone manufacturer banking heavily on its new Razr2 to pump up sales.
Some analysts agree there may be light at the end of Motorola's tunnel. "We indeed believe the worst is over," Citigroup analyst Jim Suva wrote in a research note last week.
But analysts say the cell phone maker needs a steady string of follow-ups to stay alive in an industry now dominated by products crammed with cutting edge features and software.
"Our primary criticism of Motorola's execution over the past three years has been this lack of steady stream of follow-on products," Bill Choi, an analyst at Jeffries & Co., wrote in a research note.
Rival Samsung Electronics overtook Motorola this summer to secure the No. 2 spot among cell phone manufacturers worldwide. Finland's Nokia remains the far-and-away leader. Some analysts say Motorola's market share has continued to erode and dropped back to 11 percent in the third quarter, from 22 percent last year.
This is the same company whose original Razr was the cell phone of choice just two years ago, nearly doubling the company's market share in 18 months. But the company's decision to dramatically slash prices in order to maintain market share sent the company's profits into a free fall in the absence of another slam-dunk phone in its portfolio.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect annual revenue to fall 14 percent this year to 36.7 billion U.S. dollars and earnings per share to drop 84 percent to 19 cents.
Motorola announced nine new handsets this month, including a holiday edition of the Razr2 with gold-plated accents and the Moto U9, a lightweight phone and music player that includes a camera and multiple messaging capabilities. Moto U9 is pegged for Asia, Latin America and Europe. Analysts expect more high-end products next year.
"Historically, they've proven that when they have down times, they've been able to come back," said Neil Strother, a wireless analyst for Jupiter Research. "I think they'll be back. I think they'll clean up what they can and still stay competitive."
Source:Xinhua/agencies
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