Commenting on its figures – in page seven – Motorola said that its net margin on sales declined to 5.0% in the latest period, from 5.6% in the year-earlier quarter, but it notes that its cellular telephone business continues to expand rapidly, and that higher sales for its two-way radio and paging products indicate its investments in those areas should result in sizable growth, although short-term profitability for two-way radio systems was under presure; it also sees some promising early indications of renewed strength in the semiconductor industry; sales in the communications sector rose 11%; orders increased 22% and the backlog was up by 26%; operating profit fell in the semiconductor products group, despite a 13% increase in sales, a 14% rise in orders, and a backlog 17% up.
