RIM posts strong results on 7.8M BlackBerry shipments
Updated 3:15 p.m. PDT with comments from conference call.
Research In Motion continued to post strong numbers in a bad economy, bypassing expectations for its first fiscal quarter amid sales of 7.8 million BlackBerrys.
The company on Thursday reported revenue of $3.42 billion, essentially in line with analyst estimates of $3.43 billion for the quarter, and up 52 percent from the same quarter last year. Excluding special charges related to the tax liabilities concerning stock options (perhaps this), and a one-time boost from a change in tax rules, net income was $564.4 million, or 98 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were looking for 94 cents per share.
RIM added 3.8 million new BlackBerry subscriber accounts during the quarter, just slightly below the 3.9 million new accounts added in the previous quarter. Around 80 percent of those new subscribers were consumers, said Jim Balsillie, RIM's co-CEO, on a conference call following the release of the company's results.
Looking into the current quarter, which has already seen the launch of the Palm Pre and Friday will see the launch of the iPhone 3G S, RIM said it expects revenue between $3.45 billion and $3.7 billion. Earnings per share should fall between 97 cents and $1.03. Analysts were looking for $3.61 billion in revenue and earnings per share of 97 cents.
Balsillie downplayed any notion that either the launch of the Pre or the aggressive $99 pricing on the iPhone 3G would have an impact on RIM's business, noting that RIM has enjoyed aggressive promotions and discounts from its carrier partners, such as Verizon's "Buy One, Get One Free" promotion that will continue in the current quarter.
RIM also plans to launch several products this quarter and over the rest of the year that will carry the company into the holiday season, when buying generally picks up, Balsillie said.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
I guess having phones on all carriers helps
plus there's the Obama effect as well !
Didn't Apple total shipments _FALL_ year over year??
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/41195
Maybe you should come out of the basement more... it's a real sunny day out here, y'know. :)
If you just want a phone with company email integration, the BlackBerry has been optimized for that, and is a good choice. But if you expect a BlackBerry to provide you the same experience with third-party apps that access the Internet (like on the iPhone, Palm Pre, and Android), you're not going to get as good of an experience. That was my point.
And, when you are downloading apps, do you trust that all BlackBerry developers will get this right? This is why apps have problems accessing the Internet on the BlackBerry. On other platforms, networking is much, much simpler and does not have the overhead of having to go through the RIM proxy infrastructure. Bottom line, on other mobile platforms, apps that access the Internet often work much better. There is something to be said for KISS (keep it simple, stupid).
High-five!
- by AppleSuxLeo June 23, 2009 3:17 AM PDT
- Oh Canada ! Good for RIM. And TY Canada for all the cute/slender French-Canadian girls.
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