The maker of the BlackBerry, Research In Motion Ltd., reported a higher third-quarter profit Thursday that beat expectations and forecast an even stronger fourth quarter because of strong demand for hand-held devices.
R.I.M., which is in the midst of reviewing its stock-option-granting practices, said it earned $176 million, or 93 cents a share, for the three months that ended Dec. 2. That was up from $120 million, or 61 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted to exclude regular stock option expenses, R.I.M. reported a profit of 95 cents a share. Revenue increased 49 percent, to $835.1 million.
According to Reuters Estimates, analysts were expecting earnings of 93 cents a share before one-time items on revenue of $815.4 million.
The strong results and forecast sent shares of R.I.M. soaring to $141.30 in after-hours trading, up $7.60, or 5.7 percent, from the regular close of $133.70 on Nasdaq.
The company, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, said 875,000 BlackBerry subscriber accounts were added in the quarter. The total subscriber account base was seven million at the end of the quarter.
In September, R.I.M. told the markets to expect third-quarter revenue of $780 million to $820 million, along with about 800,000 subscriber additions. It said net earnings should be 88 to 95 cents a share, and adjusted earnings should come in at 90 to 97 cents a share.
No comments:
Post a Comment