Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE:MSI) stock rose 3.94% (As on February 10, 11:38:53 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted better than expected results for the fourth quarter of FY 22. Non-GAAP operating margin was 30.4% of sales, up from 28.9% in the year-ago quarter. Operating cash flow was $1.3 billion, up $570 million compared to the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow was $1.2 billion, up $565 million compared to the year-ago quarter. The increase in both operating and free cash flow was driven by improvements in working capital and higher earnings. The company ended the year with record backlog of $14.3 billion, up $788 million from the prior year. Products and Systems Integrations segment backlog was up 22% or $894 million driven by record LMR product orders. Software and Services segment backlog was down 1% or $106 million, primarily driven by revenue recognition for the Airwave and ESN contracts, $367 million of unfavorable currency rates, and a reduction relating to the exit from the ESN contract, partially offset by growth in multi-year software and services contracts in North America.
MSI in the fourth quarter of FY 22 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $3.60, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $3.43, according to Zacks Investment Research. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 17 percent to $2.7 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 22, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $2.53 billion. This is driven by growth in North America and International. Revenue from acquisitions was $39 million, and currency headwinds were $87 million. The Products and Systems Integration segment increased 21% due to growth in land mobile radio (LMR) and video security and access control (Video). The Software and Services segment grew 9% driven by growth in LMR services, Video and Command center.
During the quarter, the company paid $132 million in dividends, repurchased $87 million of its common stock and incurred $73 million in capital expenditures. Additionally, the company closed the acquisitions of Rave Mobile Safety and FutureCom Systems Group for $553 million and $30 million, net of cash acquired, respectively
For the current quarter ending in March, Motorola expects its per-share earnings to range from $2.02 to $2.07. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted earnings per share of $3.43.
The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $11.10 to $11.22 per share, with revenue ranging from $9.65 billion to $9.7 billion.