Motorola Inc. said Tuesday that it expects sales of its paging products to remain weak into 1998, while semiconductor sales are expected to climb.
Motorola expects paging sales in China to decline further in the fourth quarter, while U.S. paging operations won’t see any “significant improvement” until sometime in 1998, said Ed Gams, a company spokesman.
The Schaumburg-based firm said it looks for a modest recovery in the worldwide semiconductor industry, where sales will increase 15 percent to 17 percent next year after rising 6 percent to 8 percent this year.
Motorola sees its capital spending for chips in 1997 coming close to $1 billion and expects spending to increase in 1998, Gams said.
Motorola also expects $27 million in expenses in the fourth quarter related to its investment in Iridium LLC and a total of $47 million in Iridium expenses this year, Gams said. Motorola owns about 20 percent of the Iridium satellite-based phone system. Next year, Iridium expenses are expected to climb to $240 million.
On Monday, Motorola warned of slower sales growth in the fourth quarterand said it had retained Goldman, Sachs & Co. to explore options for its modem business, including a sale of the division.
