The ranks of thumb-pounding BlackBerry users swelled to more than three million in Research In Motion Ltd.'s last quarter, powering a 68-per-cent rise in sales and more than doubling profit.
The Waterloo, Ont.-based company said it added about 592,000 users in the three months ended May 28, bringing its base to 3.1 million users. RIM said it expects that strong momentum to continue, forecasting subscriber growth of 620,000 to 650,000 this quarter.
Despite the robust growth RIM reported, the results disappointed the market, where some analysts were banking on seeing even stronger subscriber growth in excess of 600,000 new accounts. The company's shares fell nearly 6 per cent on Wednesday to $71.45 (U.S.) in early after-hours trading. During regular trading, before RIM announced results, the stock had declined 69 cents to $75.91 on the Nasdaq and $1.30 (Canadian) to $92.90 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The company posted financial results that slightly exceeded analysts' adjusted forecasts. RIM reported profit of $132.5-million (U.S.), or 67 cents a share, on sales of $453.9-million in its fiscal first quarter. That compares with a gain of $55-million or 28 cents on revenue of $269.6-million a year earlier.
About 69 per cent of first-quarter revenue came from the sale of BlackBerry devices, 17 per cent reflected RIM's share of the service fees telecommunications companies charge BlackBerry subscribers, and 11 per cent was from software.
Excluding certain adjustments related to litigation costs and tax credits, RIM said it earned 56 cents a share. Forecasts on the Street had been for adjusted share profit of 55 cents on $452.1-million in sales.
Analysts set those estimates after RIM warned in April that first-quarter results would fall short of earlier expectations of 68 cents on sales of $454.5-million.
“BlackBerry demand continued to grow in the first quarter as RIM and its partners continued to execute plans effectively in both enterprise and retail channels,” Jim Balsillie, RIM's chairman and co-chief executive officer, said in a news release.
