Motorola's chip division, the Semiconductor Products Sector (SPS), lost $134 million during the three months to 28 June, the second quarter of its current fiscal year, 2003, the company reported yesterday.

Sales during the period were down 11 per cent year-on-year to $1.1 billion. Orders slipped 25 per cent to $1 billion.

This time last year, SPS lost $81 million. One-off charges widened that to $1.3 billion. This past quarter's exceptional items reduced SPS' overall loss to $125 million.

The company put the blame on SARS and the virus' impact on sales in China. It also hit Motorola's wider product lines, particularly its mobile phone offerings.

As a whole, Motorola made $119 million (five cents a share), well up on the $2.3 billion loss (102 cents a share) it announced this time last year. However, revenues fell ten per cent from $6.9 billion to $6.2 billion.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects Q3 revenue to fall within the $6.3-6.5 billion range. ®