Q2 Earnings: Motorola, DOW, Sharp, SONY, Nintendo
By Virtual Copywriting Services

Today, Motorola Inc. (MOT) on posted an unexpected profit for the second quarter after several quarters of losses, and said it expected things to keep improving this year.

The Schaumburg, Illinois-based electronics company earned $26 million, or 1 cent per share, in the three months ended July 4. That's up from $4 million, or break-even per share, a year ago.
The latest results were boosted 2 cents per share by various one-time effects, but even so, Motorola exceeded its own forecast, which called for a loss of 3 cents to 5 cents per share, excluding the cost of its restructuring initiatives.

Motorola's sales fell 32 percent from a year ago to $5.5 billion from $8.1 billion a year ago. Analysts were looking for revenue of $5.6 billion for the latest quarter.

Additionally, Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) posted a loss driven by charges related to the buyout of rival Rohm & Haas and dismal sales for chemicals used in everything from plastic bags to cars.
Yet aggressive cost cutting by the Midland, Michigan-based company led to a surprise profit if one-time charges are stripped from the results, and Dow believes conditions have improved in some areas over the past three months.

Dow lost $486 million, or 47 cents per share, compared with earnings of $762 million, or 81 cents per share during the same period last year.

Dow completed a $16.5 billion buyout of Rohm & Haas, a specialty chemicals manufacturer. Dow has hastened to cut debt levels after closing the deal in April. The company has shed assets, cut about 10,000 jobs and closed 20 factories.

Second-quarter results include charges related to adjusting values for Rohm and Haas inventories, restructuring, other acquisition costs and discontinued operations. Excluding one-time items, Dow reported adjusted earnings of 5 cents per share.

Further reports include; Sony (SNE) and Sharp's (SHCAY.PK) third straight quarters of losses underscore the challenges they face in flat TV market as they struggle to compete with Samsung Electronics (SSNLF.PK) and other South Korean rivals benefiting from a weaker won.

Nintendo Co Ltd (NTDOY.PK) reported a sharp fall in quarterly profit as sales of its Wii game console lost some steam and the stronger yen took a toll. It reiterated its forecast for profit to fall for the first time in four years.

Sony, which vies with Panasonic Corp (PC) for the position as the world's largest consumer electronics maker, is struggling to keep up with Samsung in LCD TVs and has been outmatched by Nintendo in video games.

In the portable music player market, which Sony created 30 years ago with the Walkman, it trails Apple's (APPL) Pod, while its cellphone venture with Ericsson (ERIC) has been mired in the red.