RIM in freefall as BlackBerry profits crumble
BLACKBERRY maker Research in Motion (RIM) last night announced a 25 per cent drop in revenues that pushed it into the red and signalled yet another boardroom shake–up.
The firm said it made a $125m (£78m) loss in the fourth quarter, a result that came in beneath already low expectations.
Shares in the firm dropped a further three per cent to $13.30 in after-hours trading, having hit $69 as recently as February 2011.
“They clearly have no fix on when this process will bottom, and until it really does, it’s going to be very difficult for a lot of investors to come back in,” said Eric Jackson, a hedge fund manager at Ironfire Capital.
RIM shipped 11.1m smartphones in the three months to March, down 21 per cent on the third quarter.
Sales of its PlayBook tablet remain moribund and despite heavy discounts only 500,000 units were sold in the same period.
The Canadian firm has been gripped by boardroom chaos for the last two years and yesterday it announced that the company’s co-founder and former co-CEO Jim Balsillie had resigned from the board.
Chief technology officer David Yach and chief operating officer Jim Rowan have also stepped down.
RIM says it intends to focus on its business customers and dropped all specific financial guidance for future quarters, saying only it “expects continued pressure on revenue and earnings throughout fiscal 2013.”