Blackberry Powers On
It looks like a case of good news/bad news at Research in Motion. The company, which makes the increasingly ubiquitious Blackberry wireless device, posted higher than expected fiscal third-quarter profits of $90.4-million, or 46 cents a share, compared with $70.4-million, or 36 cents, a year ago. Revenue more than doubled to $365.9-million (the mid-range of expectations) while the number of Blackberry users jumped by 387,000 to 2.04 million.
The negative news is RIM offered guidance for the fourth-quarter that will see sales fail to meet analyst expectations even though profits will exceed forecasts. I suspect the sales forecast may have to do with the lower price of the new 7100 device, which is aimed at mainstream consumers rather than CEOs, CTOs and senior VPs.
It has been a month of uncertainty for RIM, which lost or won an IP infringement dispute against NTP Inc. depending on how you interpret the decision. Until the legal process is completed or a settlement is reached, there will be a black cloud hanging over RIM.
