Motorola Solutions Inc MSI shares are trading lower pre-market after reporting fourth quarter FY23 yesterday.
Sales of $2.85 billion, up 5% y/y, beating consensus of $2.82 billion, driven by growth in North America and internationally.
Sales in the Products & Systems Integration segment grew 4% year-over-year, while sales in the Software & Services segment increased 7% year-over-year in the quarter.
The company ended the year with a backlog of $14.3 billion, including a robust product and systems integration backlog.
Adjusted operating margin increased to 30.5% from 30.4% in the prior-year quarter, helped by higher sales and lower direct materials costs, partially offset by lower revenue for Airwave.
Adjusted operating earnings increased 6% y/y to $870 million, and adjusted EPS of $3.90 beat the consensus of $3.63.
Operating and free cash flow were both $1.2 billion in the quarter, helped by higher earnings and partially offset by higher cash taxes.
During the quarter, the company paid $146 million in dividends and repurchased $117 million worth of stock. During the quarter, Motorola Solutions reported a $2 billion increase in its stock repurchase authorization.
View: Motorola Solutions expects first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.50-$2.55 versus estimate of $2.37 and 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $12.62-$12.72 versus the consensus of $12.68.
The company expects revenue growth of approximately 8% for the first quarter and approximately 6% for 2024.
This week, Motorola Solutions signed a multi-year strategic agreement with Google Cloud to focus on innovating cloud solutions through Motorola Solutions’ security and protection technologies.
Read also: Motorola’s latest technological leap: the V500 camera delivers real-time information to first responders
Price action: MSI shares are trading 3.19% lower at $317.87 pre-market at last check on Friday.