Motorola Solves Inventory Woes; Profits Up 31% : Earnings: Second quarter beats predictions, rising to $481 million from $367 million a year ago.

Motorola Inc. reported Tuesday a 31% gain in second-quarter profit to $481 million and said it had resolved a nagging problem of bulging cellular telephone inventories.

The inventories had constrained earnings earlier in the year, but Motorola said they came into line toward the end of the second quarter.

Earnings beat Wall Street forecasts, rising to $481 million, or 79 cents a share, in the second quarter from $367 million, or 63 cents a share, a year ago.

Sales in the second quarter rose 26% to $6.9 billion from $5.4 billion a year earlier.

In its general systems sector, which includes cellular phones, sales jumped 39% to $2.9 billion and operating profit increased.

Semiconductor segment sales, which have lagged behind in the industry during the last few quarters, rebounded, rising 22% to $2.1 billion. Both orders and operating profit increased.

Wall Street was looking for 73-cents-a-share earnings.

Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola closed up 37.5 cents at $70.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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International Paper Co., reporting the highest quarterly sales and earnings in its history, increased its dividend and announced a two-for-one stock split.

Wall Street was not impressed. The company’s stock slid $4.125 to $86.625 on the NYSE.

The Purchase, N.Y.-based forest products giant said its second-quarter net earnings more than tripled to a record $316 million, or $2.49 a share, from 1994’s $91 million, or 73 cents a share.

Sales climbed 40% to $5.1 billion from $3.6 billion.

International Paper also raised its quarterly dividend from 42 cents to 50 cents per common share and announced a two-for-one stock split, making the dividend 25 cents a share after the split.

“We’re seeing continued strong demand in essentially all of our paper and packaging product lines, and we expect it to continue,” Chairman John Georges said in a statement.

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Nike Inc. said its earnings surged 64% to a record for its fourth fiscal quarter.

Analysts said the results, which were better than expected, reflected strong sales in virtually all Nike’s product categories, partly at the expense of rival shoemaker Reebok International Ltd.

The huge athletic shoe and apparel marketer said it earned $113.4 million, or $1.56 per share, in the quarter ended May 31, up from $69.2 million, or 93 cents per share, a year earlier. Sales were up 41% to $1.41 billion from $1 billion last year.

It said worldwide orders for shoes and apparel scheduled for delivery between June and November were up 35% to a record $2.49 billion.

For the fiscal year, Nike said it earned a new high of $399.7 million, or $5.44 per share, up from $298.8 million, or $3.96 per share, last year. Sales were a record $4.76 billion, up from $3.79 billion last year.