SCHAUMBURG (Illinois) - MOTOROLA says it lost US$3.6 billion (S$5.45 billion), or US$1.57 per share, in the fourth quarter as it took massive non-cash charges for goodwill impairment and an increase in a deferred tax reserve.
Hammered by a decline in sales, the maker of telecommunications equipment also said it would suspend its dividend, and its chief financial officer Paul Liska is leaving.
The company also says it is undertaking cost-cutting measures meant to save US$1.5 billion in 2009.
Excluding items, the Schaumburg, Illinois-based company lost a penny per share in the fourth quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on average expected Motorola to break even on that basis.
In the same quarter of 2007, Motorola earned US$100 million, or 5 cents per share.
Motorola's sales were US$7.1 billion, down 26 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2007. -- AP
