Motorola shares have been healthy this year

Mobile handset maker Motorola has unveiled a fourfold increase in quarterly profits, crediting strong demand for its new-look phones.

Motorola said earnings for the three months to September came in at $479m (￡268m), up from $116m in the same period last year.

Sales also rose, climbing to $8.62bn from $6.83bn one year earlier.

The increase reflected the successful launch of 17 new handset models with colour displays and built-in cameras.

Motorola's mobile phones division - its largest single business - accounted for the bulk of its profits, generating some $390m in operating earnings.

Its semiconductor business notched up operating earnings of $82m, while sales rose 17% on the year to $1.4bn.

Chief executive Ed Zander said the company's future prospects looked "pretty solid and optimistic".

"We have the best product line-up we've had in a long time," he said.

The company, the world's second biggest mobile handset maker after Finland's Nokia, is hoping to narrow the gap with its arch rival in the months ahead.

Nokia's share of the global market dipped earlier this year after the firm fell behind in launching popular new 'clamshell' models.

But the Finnish giant said in September that third quarter sales were progressing better than expected, helped in part by a wave of new products.  

(Agencies)

handset: telephone set with the mouthpiece and earpiece mounted on a single handle（手機）

built-in: existing as an essential constituent or characteristic（內置的）