Research In Motion (RIM) has announced that its quarterly earnings and gross margin would fall to the low end of the company’s previous expectations, despite the fact that the number of new subscribers had exceeded their forecasts.

The news prompted RIM’s shares to go down by 12 percent on Wednesday.

Analysts have explained the fall in revenue and the growth in subscribers, saying that RIM’s existing customers had been reluctant to upgrade their gadgets given the global economic crisis, whereas new subscribers had been enticed with high-end devices such as the BlackBerry Storm or the BlackBerry Bold.

James Cordwell, an analyst with Atlantic Equities in London, said that even though companies were reducing the cost of their products, customers were not willing to purchase new handsets because they were affected by the financial crisis.

Speaking of the plummeting profits and the increase in the number of customers, RIM blamed them on several factors, including product mix, lower inventory levels and a higher ratio of new subscriber sales compared to that of upgrade and replacement sales.

Furthermore, the company said that it expected net subscriber account additions within the quarter to end on February 28 to come to be increased by 20 percent than their previous forecasts, made on December 18, which had estimated 2.9 million additions.

Back in December 2008, RIM forecast quarterly revenue ranging between $3.3 billion and $3.5 billion, with earnings per share of 83 cents to 91 cents.