Motorola has yet to find a good home for itself, as its new parent company, Lenovo, officially admits that it failed to properly integrate it.
Despite the interest the Moto X line and other Motorola devices stirred, the company still failed to become profitable enough to remain under the same umbrella. Google had acquired the company a few years back, but ultimately decided to let it go and Motorola found itself on Lenovo's doorstep.
Now reporting its financial results for the full-fiscal year that ended in March 2016, that is, the first fiscal year since the Motorola acquisition, Lenovo reckons that integrating the mobile company fell below expectations. This, in turn, caused some losses, but Lenovo's mobile business in general still saw some growth.
Lenovo reports encouraging growth in emerging markets of EMEA, Asia Pacific and Latin America, and Motorola did play its role in the performance. Nearly 5 million out of the 10.9 million smartphones Lenovo shipped in the previous fiscal quarter came from Motorola, states the report.
The Motorola integration, however, cost quite a lot, and affected Lenovo's performance on both the North American and Chinese markets.
"These results show integration efforts did not meet expectations," says Lenovo.
Going into further detail, the company notes that China shipments dropped 85 percent, and it didn't see much success with product transition in North America either.
Nevertheless, Lenovo is still positive despite the disappointing figures and it's already looking ahead to the next phase. The company is still working toward an open market in China, particularly with its Zuk brand.
"Lenovo has learned a great deal since the close of the Motorola acquisition and is applying learnings quickly, with actions in organization, leadership and approach."
As for the U.S., the Motorola brand may be more familiar and Lenovo might have a better shot at success stateside with Moto devices. Lenovo should soon introduce the first Moto flagship device since the acquisition, but it might not be a new Moto X. Instead, rumors hint at a Moto Z branding, with a Moto Z Play and a Moto Z Style expected to debut on June 9.
