Research in Motion stuns with 47pc profit slide as sales slump
BLACKBERRY maker Research in Motion stunned analysts yesterday after posting a sales slump far worse than expectations and warning of a poor outlook for the rest of the year.
RIM’s shares fell more than 18 per cent in after-hours trading after it said net profit fell 47 per cent in the second quarter to $419m (£266m), or $0.80 per share, on revenue of $4.2bn.
RIM said it shipped 10.6m smartphones and 200,000 PlayBook tablet computers in the past quarter, sharply below analysts’ average estimate of almost 12m phones and 600,000 tablets. RIM’s had forecast 11 to 12.5m BlackBerry shipments.
The Canadian company also painted a less-than-rosy picture for its current quarter and pointed towards the lower end of an already reduced full-year outlook.