Chicago ? Motorola Inc. surprised Wall Street on Monday by announcing better-than-expected profit and sales for the third quarter, rushing results out a day and a half early to counteract the impact of a downgrade by a credit ratings agency.

The embattled cell-phone maker, which is searching for a new CEO and spinning off its struggling semiconductor business, posted a $116 million profit for the three months ended Sept. 27, up 4.5 percent from a year earlier. It also disclosed that sales — a figure closely watched by analysts as a barometer of its health — were significantly higher than industry experts expected and expects sales to beat its own forecast this quarter.

Its profit amounted to 5 cents a share, up from $111 million, for the same period in 2002. Excluding $16 million in special charges, earnings were $132 million, or 6 cents per share — 3 cents a share higher than the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.

Revenue was $6.83 billion, up 5 percent from $6.53 billion a year earlier.

The Schaumburg, Ill.-based company had scheduled its earnings report to be released today after the close of trading. It decided instead to issue them before the stock market opened Monday in the wake of the downgrade of its debt late Friday by Moody’s Investors Service, the credit rating agency, to one step above junk status.