Beleaguered manufacturer Motorola showed signs of a turnaround on Thursday as the company posted a slim profit on the back of better than expected handset sales.

The company’s earnings for the quarter to end June 31 came in at a modest $4m, but this compares to a loss of $28m in the same period last year.

Net sales were down slightly to $8bn, compared to $8.7bn in the same period last year.

The handset division managed to shift 28.1 million devices during the three month period, which helped Moto cling onto its ranking as the third placed vendor. The MING handset range is turning out to be merciful, having already shipped 8 million units, and was refreshed during 2Q with three touchscreen units.

But sales at the Mobile Devices segment still slipped22 per cent to $3.3bn, while the operating loss widened to $346m, compared to a loss of $332m a year ago.

The Home and Networks Mobility segment helped to offset losses in the handset unit, delivering Operating earnings at $245m, an increase of 28 per cent. While operating earnings at the Enterprise Mobility Solutions division were also up 24 per cent at $377m.

Greg Brown, Motorola president and chief executive officer, warned investors that there was still a lot of work to do, and kept quiet on rumoured plans that the company is to split into three separate units rather than two independent divisions.