RIM posts net loss as quarterly sales fall 25%

News Wireless Global 30 MRT 2012
RIM posts net loss as quarterly sales fall 25%
Research In Motion reported a net loss of USD 125 million or USD 0.24 per share for the fiscal fourth quarter to 03 March, versus a profit of USD 934 million or USD 1.78 per share a year earlier. Results were hurt by USD 355 million in charges for writing down goodwill and USD 267 million for excess inventory of BlackBerry 7 phones. The company's sales fell 25 percent from a year earlier and 19 percent from previous quarter to USD 4.2 billion. Shipments reached 11.1 million BlackBerry phones and over 500,000 PlayBook tablets. 

RIM said it expects continued pressure on results this year, and will no longer provide guidance for quarterly figures. The company forecast ongoing weakness in the US market and competitive pressure elsewhere in the world and said it would put a bigger focus on selling BlackBerry 7 smartphones to grow the subscriber base ahead of the BlackBerry 10 launch later this year. It also plans to introduce new "lower tier service pricing initiatives", meaning more sales will come from entry-level products. 

In addition, the company's new CEO Thorsten Heins announced the start of a "comprehensive review of strategic opportunities", including partnerships and joint ventures, licensing and other ways to leverage the company's assets. RIM finished the quarter with USD 2.1 billion in cash, after operating cash flow of USD 1.1 billion in the three months. 

The company also announced that David Yach will be retiring from his role as CTO, Software after 13 years with the company, while COO Jim Rowan also decided to pursue other interests outside RIM. The company is currently searching for a new COO. 

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