Research In Motion
After the bell yesterday, the company behind the increasingly popular BlackBerry handheld email device said that third-quarter revenues climbed 107% year over year to $153.9 million. Meanwhile, Research In Motion (RIM) added 154,000 BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter, bringing the total to 865,000. As a result, earnings came in at $16.3 million, or $0.20 per share.
Excluding a litigation provision of $9.2 million, the company earned $0.31 per share on a pro forma basis. By comparison, analysts had expected earnings of $0.17 on that basis.
And apparently, RIM is ripe for further growth.
RIM expects revenue in the current quarter to come in between $195 million and $210 million, vs. its previous guidance of $150 million to $160 million. At the same time, the company said that it is on track to add another 180,000 to 200,000 BlackBerry subscribers, breaking the 1 million mark. RIM also expects to earn $0.30 to $0.40 per share. Excluding the litigation provision, that comes to $0.45 to $0.55 per share, more than doubling the analyst estimate of $0.22 per share.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2005, RIM expects to earn $0.35 to $0.50 per share -- $0.50 to $0.65 on a pro forma basis -- on revenues of $220 million to $240 million. Analysts had expected earnings of $0.23 per share on revenues closer to $160 million.
The company cited "strong execution and momentum in [its] carrier channels" for the performance.
Not three months ago, Barron'spanned the stock near $27, after the then-profitless company's stock price had rocketed from a March low of just under $11 per share. At the time, RIM's $340 million in trailing annual sales didn't seem to justify its $2.1 billion market cap. But with RIM's explosive performance and heightened expectations, the stock suddenly doesn't look so expensive.
Beyond earnings, the company is in great shape, with $531 million in cash and investments and negligible debt. RIM also recently had the not-so-meaningful validation of being added to the Nasdaq 100. With a growing list of business partners and clients -- which includes PalmSource
Talk BlackBerry on the Research In Motion discussion board.
Jeff Hwang can be reached at [email protected].