The world’s second largest mobile handset maker, Motorola, broke all expectations Wednesday when it posted a 48 per cent leap in profits for the second quarter.

The company said it shipped 51.9 million mobile phones in the quarter, a figure boosted massively by sales of the firm’s Razr model. Moto said the Razr helped the company increase its market share to 22 per cent, a rise of 4.3 per cent and its highest since the 1990s.

Moto said profit was $1.38bn (£0.75bn) or 55 cents a share, up from $933m or 37 cents a year earlier. The figures clobbered analyst estimates, consensus fell in the region of 31 cents a share based on the company’s most recent guidance.

Sales in Motorola’s Networks and Enterprise Segment were up $2.9bn, up 3 per cent on the year-ago figure and an increase of 15 percent compared with the first quarter of 2006. Operating earnings decreased to $386m, compared with $494m in the year-ago quarter, but increased sequentially from $299m the first quarter of 2006.

For the third quarter, Motorola expects sales of $10.9bn to $11.1bn, up 20 to 23 per cent on the previous year’s quarter.