Motorola expects strong sales growth in H2

Motorola said it expects to sustain strong sales growth in H2 of 2004 thanks to new handsets with innovative designs and features.

Motorola Inc, the world's second-largest mobile phone maker, said on Tuesday it expects to sustain strong sales growth in the second half of 2004 thanks to new handsets with innovative designs and features.

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"We obviously had a very good first and second quarter where we blew past anybody's estimates of what we would do," said senior vice-president for Motorola's mobile phone division, Geoffrey Frost.

"We feel very good about the second half of this year given the product portfolio and as we accelerate our product development time, we expect momentum to continue," he said in an interview in Singapore.

Motorola plans to launch about 20 new models in the final six months of the year. They include a 13.9 mm (0.5 in)-slim flip phone with a nickel-plated keypad and aluminium casing, and a video and music-playing handset with stereo sound.

Gartner Group analyst Nick Ingelbrecht said the new phones looked promising.

"They've done well, but have some more work to do -- they're not entirely out of the woods yet," he said. Motorola must ensure that delays in the launches of new models, which plagued the company last Christmas, did not recur, he said.