BlackBerry makers' shares falter on outlook

Smart phone maker Research In Motion Ltd.'s fiscal first-quarter profit and revenue more than doubled, fueled by strong sales of its BlackBerry devices, but the company's forecast for the current period sent its shares down nearly 8 percent.

The Waterloo, Ontario, company said Wednesday it earned $482.5 million, or 84 cents per share, for the three months that ended May 31, up from $223.2 million, or 39 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

RIM said its revenue jumped to $2.24 billion from $1.08 billion a year earlier.

"We are pleased to report another record quarter with revenue increasing 107 percent as the popularity of the BlackBerry platform continued to spread in business, government and consumer segments," RIM Co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said in a news release.

The company said it had a net gain of 2.3 million BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter, 6 percent higher than in the fourth quarter, to bring the total to subscriber base to more than 16 million. RIM also shipped about 5.4 million devices in the latest quarter.

"Our comprehensive technology and business strategies continue to reap strong results in the market, and RIM is well positioned to build on its momentum throughout the remainder of fiscal 2009," Balsillie said.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on average, had expected slightly higher earnings of 85 cents per share on sales of $2.27 billion.

"It was a little light on the quarter on devices and outlook is a little worse than I thought, but the guidance was significantly better than I expected on shipments and on units," said Peter Misek, an analyst with Canaccord Adams.

RIM expects its revenue in the second quarter, which ends Aug. 31, to be in the range of $2.55 billion to $2.65 billion, with a profit of 84 cents to 89 cents per share. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 90 cents per share on sales of $2.44 billion.

RIM shares fell $11.15, or 7.8 percent, in late electronic trading Wednesday after closing at $142.34, up $1.86, or 1.3 percent.

"We believe that the strong product portfolio we have, together with the continued commitment by our carrier partners to promote BlackBerry throughout the summer months, will allow us to post healthy growth in Q2," Balsillie said in a call with analysts.

Misek predicted a "thunderous" second quarter, when the company's Kickstart flip phone is to launch.

RIM's positive outlook for the second quarter is also buoyed by the planned launch in August of the BlackBerry Bold, a touch-screen device that some analysts have suggested RIM developed in response to Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

RBC Dominion Securities Inc. analyst Mike Abramsky issued a note to investors before the earnings were released Wednesday expressing concern over the rollout of the BlackBerry Bold. He said RIM may have to delay the rollout of the new phone in the United States by two or three weeks as it works to mesh the device with its network and that could cut into revenue.

During the call, Balsillie told investors and analysts that RIM's market share around the world and particularly in the U.S., U.K. and Latin America continued to grow.

In first quarter, he said, its share of the U.S. market "increased substantially and was more than double that of our nearest competitor, whose share decreased significantly from the prior quarter."