TORONTO, June 24 (Reuters) - Research in Motion on Thursday posted subscriber and shipment figures that disappointed investors and rekindled fears that the BlackBerry maker is losing market share to Apple Inc and other rivals.
Shares of RIM tumbled more than 5 percent in after-hour trade even as the company said profit rose almost 20 percent, more than expected.
But a 24 percent jump in revenue was lighter than forecast, as were the quarterly numbers on new subscribers and and unit shipments. Gross profit margin receded, suggesting that low-priced models were a growing part of the sales mix.
Overall, the results did little to dispel the perception that competition from the likes of Apple's iPhone and Motorola's Droid is stiffening.
Charter Equity analyst Ed Snyder said investors were hoping to see more phones sold, with stronger profit margins.
'It's a mixed report. It's a little light on revenue and light on units for this quarter. The forecast is a little bit better than expected,' he said. 'It's not the strong report everybody had been hoping for. The market is in a bad mood so its a tough time to be giving a mixed bag.'
RIM's results come close on the heels of the launch of the iPhone 4, which hit store shelves globally earlier on Thursday. Apple sold 600,000 of the new devices in pre-orders in a single day last week, and analysts expect up to 1 million sold in stores on the first day.
'RIM's doing a good job in profitability. They're just not showing as much unit growth as people would have liked,' said CIBC analyst Todd Coupland.
'They're still showing 43 percent year-on-year growth. They're still growing but there's concern Android and Apple are nipping a their heels. That's why the stock if off,' he said.
Shares of RIM were down $3.18 at $55.40 in post-market trade in the United States, even as RIM's board authorized a share repurchase program to buy back up to about 31 million common shares.
QUARTERLY RESULTS
The company posted fiscal first-quarter earnings of $769 million, or $1.38 a share, in the three months ending May 29, up from $643 million, or $1.12, in the same period last year.
Quarterly revenue rose 24 percent to $4.24 billion.
Analysts on average had forecast earnings of $1.34 a share, on revenues of $4.35 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said shipments topped 11 million and it added 4.9 million new subscribers in the quarter. Both numbers came in at the low end of the company's forecast range, but were short of what analysts had expected.
The company reported a gross margin of 45.4 percent in the quarter, down slightly from 45.7 percent in the prior quarter.
The BlackBerry maker expects to add between 4.9 million and 5.2 million new subscribers in the current quarter.
The company also forecast fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.33 to $1.40 a share, on revenue of between $4.4 billion and $4.6 billion.
($1= $1.04 Canadian)
(Reporting by Euan Rocha) Keywords: RESEARCHINMOTION/ (euan.rocha@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8185; Reuters Messaging: euan.rocha.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Shares of RIM tumbled more than 5 percent in after-hour trade even as the company said profit rose almost 20 percent, more than expected.
But a 24 percent jump in revenue was lighter than forecast, as were the quarterly numbers on new subscribers and and unit shipments. Gross profit margin receded, suggesting that low-priced models were a growing part of the sales mix.
Overall, the results did little to dispel the perception that competition from the likes of Apple's iPhone and Motorola's Droid is stiffening.
Charter Equity analyst Ed Snyder said investors were hoping to see more phones sold, with stronger profit margins.
'It's a mixed report. It's a little light on revenue and light on units for this quarter. The forecast is a little bit better than expected,' he said. 'It's not the strong report everybody had been hoping for. The market is in a bad mood so its a tough time to be giving a mixed bag.'
RIM's results come close on the heels of the launch of the iPhone 4, which hit store shelves globally earlier on Thursday. Apple sold 600,000 of the new devices in pre-orders in a single day last week, and analysts expect up to 1 million sold in stores on the first day.
'RIM's doing a good job in profitability. They're just not showing as much unit growth as people would have liked,' said CIBC analyst Todd Coupland.
'They're still showing 43 percent year-on-year growth. They're still growing but there's concern Android and Apple are nipping a their heels. That's why the stock if off,' he said.
Shares of RIM were down $3.18 at $55.40 in post-market trade in the United States, even as RIM's board authorized a share repurchase program to buy back up to about 31 million common shares.
QUARTERLY RESULTS
The company posted fiscal first-quarter earnings of $769 million, or $1.38 a share, in the three months ending May 29, up from $643 million, or $1.12, in the same period last year.
Quarterly revenue rose 24 percent to $4.24 billion.
Analysts on average had forecast earnings of $1.34 a share, on revenues of $4.35 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said shipments topped 11 million and it added 4.9 million new subscribers in the quarter. Both numbers came in at the low end of the company's forecast range, but were short of what analysts had expected.
The company reported a gross margin of 45.4 percent in the quarter, down slightly from 45.7 percent in the prior quarter.
The BlackBerry maker expects to add between 4.9 million and 5.2 million new subscribers in the current quarter.
The company also forecast fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.33 to $1.40 a share, on revenue of between $4.4 billion and $4.6 billion.
($1= $1.04 Canadian)
(Reporting by Euan Rocha) Keywords: RESEARCHINMOTION/ (euan.rocha@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8185; Reuters Messaging: euan.rocha.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.