Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Joy Global, Motorola, Nokia, Siemens AG and Apple

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: Joy Global Inc. (Nasdaq: JOYG), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) and Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Joy Global Beats, Revs Dip

Joy Global Inc. (Nasdaq: JOYG) reported adjusted earnings of $1.13 per share in the third quarter of fiscal 2010, compared with $1.21 per share in the year-ago period. EPS in the quarter came in 10 cents higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.03.

Operational Update

Joy Global’s net sales of $850 million were slightly below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $875 million. The company’s sales in the quarter declined 11% year over year primarily due to lower original equipment sales in the underground equipment business.

Surface equipment sales in the quarter rose 2%, with aftermarket sales up 4% and original equipment sales substantially flat with the prior year’s quarter. The increase in aftermarket sales was due to increased shipments in North America and Australasia, partially offset by decreased activity in China, due to timing.

However, underground equipment sales in the second quarter dipped 18%, with aftermarket up 8% primarily due to increased parts sales and machine rebuilds. This was offset by a $134 million decline in original equipment sales.

By product, original equipment revenue was down 28% on a year-over-year basis, while the aftermarket revenues were up 5% from the year-ago period.

Joy Global’s operating profit in the current quarter was $172 million versus $195 million in the year-ago period. Operating margin in the quarter remained flat from the third quarter of 2009 at 20%. The positive impact from the manufacturing and supply variances and the benefits of the 2009 cost reduction programs more than offset the negatives like lower sales volumes, and higher pension and product development expense.

Motorola Gives Spin-off Details

Struggling mobile phone manufacturer Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) intends to invest $3.5 billion into its mobile-phone and set-top box units that will be spun off in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

The money will be used to manage and build the business and make acquisitions. The Motorola Mobility unit is applying for a separate listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Motorola has incurred losses of about $5 billion, over the past three years, due to weakening sales. As of July 3, 2010, Motorola had $8.33 billion in cash and investments. Total debt at the end of second quarter 2010 was $3.9 billion.

Motorola’s spin-off has been in progress since early 2008. The company decided to split its Mobile Devices and Home Division as Motorola Mobility and the Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks businesses as Motorola Solutions.

Recently, Motorola agreed to sell its telecom unit to Nokia Siemens Networks, a 50-50 joint venture between Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) and Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), for $1.2 billion. The deal will help Nokia Siemens strengthen its network infrastructure business in the U.S.

Although Motorola shows a huge sequential growth of its 3G smartphones, in absolute terms, the 2.7 million device shipment is far behind Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL ) iPhone shipment of 8.4 million.

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