Telecompaper

Research In Motion expects its revenues for the three months to November to fall short of its earlier forecast. The BlackBerry maker expects to report fiscal third-quarter sales of USD 2.75-2.85 billion, up 65 percent from a year earlier but less than its earlier outlook for USD 2.95-3.10 billion in revenues. RIM attributed about a third of the shortfall to foreign exchange effects and the remainder to lower market demand, particularly in the US. The company added 2.7 million new BlackBerry subscriber accounts in the quarter, below its outlook for 2.9 million, but up 57 percent from a year earlier. The gross margin also came in below expectations, at 45-46 percent, due to an unfavourable product mix and forex effects, while EPS is estimated at USD 0.67-0.71, well below RIM's earlier outlook of USD 0.89-0.97 due to a negative impact on the tax rate from the drop in the Canadian dollar versus the US dollar. Despite the general economic weakness, RIM said it had seen a strong response to recent new products. Daily net subscriber account additions reached a record level on the day the BlackBerry Storm launched in the US, and RIM achieved a record number of weekly subscriber additions during the last week of the third quarter. The strong demand for new products has continued into Q4, according to the smartphone maker. RIM will report final third-quarter results and provide a Q4 outlook on 18 December.