Reuters reports that Motorola said on Wednesday it will post an operating loss in the current quarter as recovery in its cell phone business is taking longer than expected, dashing Wall Street expectations for a profit and sending its shares down as much as 14 percent.

"The figures had us scratching our heads checking the date to see if we were looking at an earnings release from 2002," JPMorgan analyst Ehud Gelblum said in a note to clients.

Motorola has struggled recently, as it has proven unable to follow up its surprise 2004 hit with the RAZR. Plus, over the past few years, the company eroded its profits as it heavily discounted RAZRs from their original $500 list price in an attempt to gain market share.

Poor Cell-Phone Sales Will Lead to Motorola Loss [Reuters via Smart Device Central]