RESEARCH IN MOTION REPORTS YEAR-END AND FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS FOR FISCAL 2010
Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM), a world leader in the mobile communications market, today reported results for the three months and fiscal year ended February 27, 2010 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S. GAAP).
Annual Highlights:
- Revenue grew 35% over the prior fiscal year to $15 billion • BlackBerry® subscriber account base grew 65% over the prior fiscal year to over 41 million, with a record 4.9 million net new subscriber accounts added in Q4
- BlackBerry smartphone shipments grew more than 40% over the prior fiscal year to 37 million
- BlackBerry was the number one selling smartphone brand in the United States at the end of calendar 20091
GAAP earnings per share grew 30% over the prior fiscal year to $4.31 per share diluted Revenue for the fiscal year ended February 27, 2010 was $14.95 billion, up 35% from $11.07 billion last year. Revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 was $4.08 billion, up 18% from $3.46 billion in the same quarter of last year and up 4% from $3.92 billion in the previous quarter. The revenue breakdown for the quarter was approximately 80% for devices, 16% for service, 2% for software and 2% for other revenue. Gross margin for the fourth quarter was 45.7% compared to 42.7% in the prior quarter. RIM shipped approximately 37 million devices during fiscal 2010 and approximately 10.5 million devices in the fourth quarter.
Approximately 4.9 million net new BlackBerry subscriber accounts were added in the quarter. At the end of the quarter, the total BlackBerry subscriber account base was over 41 million.
“RIM has completed another outstanding fiscal year with record revenue, earnings and subscriber results. Our company and partnerships continued to thrive within one of the most dynamic industries in the world. We managed to significantly expand our international market share while also maintaining our longstanding leadership in North America where BlackBerry continues to be the top selling smartphone brand,” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “We are off to a great start in fiscal 2011 and expect strong shipments, revenue, subscriber and earnings growth in Q1. We are also very excited about our portfolio of products and services for the coming year and we continue to see exceptional opportunity for sustained growth.” Net income for fiscal 2010 was $2.46 billion, or $4.31 per share diluted, up 29.8% over fiscal 2009.
Net income for the quarter was $710.1 million, or $1.27 per share diluted, compared with net income of $628.4 million, or $1.10 per share diluted, in the prior quarter and net income of $518.3 million, or $0.90 per share diluted, in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 ending May 29, 2010 is expected to be in the range of $4.25-4.45 billion. Gross margin for Q1 is expected to be approximately 44.5%. Net subscriber account additions in the first quarter are expected to be between 4.9-5.2 million. Earnings per share for the first quarter are expected to be in the range of $1.31 – $1.38 per share diluted.
The total of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and long-term investments was $2.87 billion as at February 27, 2010, compared to $2.41 billion at the end of the previous quarter, an increase of $461 million over the prior quarter. Uses of cash in the quarter included capital expenditures of $258 million and the acquisition of intangible assets of $36 million.
A conference call and live webcast will be held beginning at 5 pm ET, March 31, 2010, which can be accessed by dialing 800-814-4859 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 800-814-4859 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 800-814-4859 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 800-814-4859 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (North America), 416-644-3414 (outside North America). The replay of the company’s Q4 conference call can be accessed after 7 pm ET, March 31, 2010 until midnight ET, April 14, 2010. It can be accessed by dialing 416-640-1917 and entering passcode 4177292#. The conference call will also appear on the RIM website live at 5 pm ET and will be archived at http://www.rim.com/investors/events/index.shtml.’
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