Research In Motion reported a small profit of USD 9 million for its fiscal third quarter to 01 December, down from USD 265 million a year earlier. Profits included a USD 55 million charge for restructuring and an income tax benefit of USD 166 million. The BlackBerry maker's revenues fell 47 percent year-on-year and were down 5 percent from the previous quarter to USD 2.9 billion. RIM shipped 6.9 million BlackBerry smartphones and 255,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets in the three months, versus respectively 7.4 million and 130,000 in the previous quarter. Cash flow from operations remained strong at USD 950 million, boosting the cash position to a total USD 2.9 billion. RIM said it expects to report an operating loss for the last quarter of its fiscal year, as it boosts marketing spending for the launch of BlackBerry 10 at the end of January. It also plans continued promotions on BlackBerry 7 devices to maintain the subscriber base. In addition, RIM announced that chief information officer Robin Bienfait will retire at the end of this year, after six years at the company.
