Research In Motion has been under the microscopes of industry and financial analysts for several months who wonder if it can stand up to challenges to its business model from some countries and smart phones from other manufacturers. But on Thursday it released healthy second quarter numbers.
The Waterloo, Ont.-based company said it shipped 12.1 million BlackBerrys in the quarter, which ended Aug. 31, more than any quarter before, pushed revenue up to $4.62 billion and earnings to $1.6 billion.
“RIM set another new record in the quarter by shipping over 12 million BlackBerry smartphones,” said co-CEO Jim Balsillie in a news release. “This accomplishment and RIM's solid financial results during the second quarter were driven by effective business execution and strong demand for RIM's portfolio of BlackBerry smartphones and services in markets around the world …We expect a continuation of this momentum in the third quarter as we extend the rollout of new products including the BlackBerry Torch into additional markets and benefit from heavy promotional activities and increasing customer demand as we head into the holiday buying season.”
Revenue was up 9 per cent from the previous quarter and up 31 per cent from in the same quarter of last year. The release said approximately 79 per cent of Q2 revenue came from devices and 17 per cent from services.
Net income for the quarter was $796.7 million compared with net income of $768.9 million in the prior quarter.
Revenue for the third quarter, which ends November 27, is expected to be in the range of $5.30-$5.55 billion, the release said.