Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Tue, October 12, 2010
CHICAGO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: Motorola Inc. (NYSE: [ MOT ]), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: [ MSFT ]), Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: [ AAPL ]), Google Inc. (Nasdaq: [ GOOG ]) and Diamond Foods Inc (Nasdaq: [ DMND ]).
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Here are highlights from Mondaya™s Analyst Blog:
Motorola Sues Apple
Just a week after Motorola Inc. (NYSE: [ MOT ]) itself became the target of legal action by Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: [ MSFT ]), it sued Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: [ AAPL ]) for the alleged infringement of 18 of its patents. Motorola subsidiary, Motorola Mobility Inc. also filed patent suits against Apple in federal court in Illinois and Florida.
Motorola Mobility filed three lawsuits and a trade complaint against Apple alleging that Applea™s iPhone, iPad, iTouch and some Macintosh computers illegally use Motorola's technology, such as method for distributing message traffic, among others.
Motorola is seeking an investigation and an injunction on the importation of infringing products. Motorola wants Apple to stop using its patents and seeks compensation.
In the past, Motorola made phones based on Microsoft Windows operating system, but then it switched to Google Inc.a™s (Nasdaq: [ GOOG ]) Android operating system. Recently, Microsoft filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Motorola, alleging that Motorola's Android-based phones violate nine Microsoft patents covering the synchronization of email, calendars and contacts, scheduling of meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power. Despite this, Motorola announced that it may use Windows 7 software in future.
Motorola is rebuilding its handset business around Android, open source software that is also used by HTC Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Motorola aims to return its mobile-phone operations to profitability in the fourth quarter of 2010 and then spin them off along with a division making television set-top boxes early in the first quarter of 2011.
This week Motorola also launched its new range of smartphones, namely, Bravo, Citrus, Defy, Droid Pro, Flipout, Flipside and Spice. All the devices are targeted toward cost conscious customers, with Droid Pro being the most prominent.
Motorola is benefiting from the significant market acceptance of Andriod as the next-generation 3G smartphone operating system. Motorola handsets feature an intuitive user interface and an efficient combination of Internet access, messaging and multi-media applications based on the Android ecosystem.
The major new innovation is the customized software interface called aMOTOBLURa. This is a social-networking interface through which Motorola is trying to differentiate its products from other smartphones. Currently, more than 6,000 multimedia and social networking applications are available on the Android ecosystem. Motorola is trying hard to expand this platform using its proprietary MOTODEV program.
We maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on Motorola. It is currently a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) stock.
Diamond Foods Beats Estimates
Diamond Foods Inca™s (Nasdaq: DMND) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations came in at 34 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 28 cents. This also compares favorably with 25 cents incurred in the year-ago period. Net income from continuing operations for the quarter was $7.5 million versus $4.2 million reported in fourth-quarter 2009.
Including $1.3 million in acquisition and integration costs related to the purchase of Kettle Foods in March, Diamond Foods reported a net income of $6.7 million or 30 cents per share, compared with $4.2 million or 25 cents reported in fourth-quarter 2010.
Revenue for the reported quarter was $176.6 million, up 55% from $113.8 million recorded in the year-ago quarter. Better-than-expected performance of retail brands and the acquisition of Kettle primarily resulted in the year-over-year increase. However, the top line fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $191 million.
Total retail sales increased 81% year over year to $167.9 million in the fiscal fourth quarter, driven by an increase in Snack and Culinary sales, partially offset by a decline in In-shell sales.
Total non-retail sales declined 58% over the prior-year period attributable to weak performance in International non-retail sales and N. American Ingredient/Food Service sales.
Gross profit increased 33% year over year. Selling, general and administrative expense was $20.3 million, compared with $16.7 million in the prior-year quarter.
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