In short, RIM’s profit climbed to $518.3 million or 90 cents a share, in the fourth quarter which ended on February 28. During the same period of the previous year, the company had a profit of $412.5 million, or 72 cents.  

 

RIM also said its number of subscribers worldwide is of about 25 million. The financial results were well above the analysts’ expectations and the good news sent the company’s shares to $59.52 in late trading from their regular-session close of $49.09 on the Nasdaq.

 

The good news isn’t just about the company’s profit, but also about the fact that RIM is more than holding its ground, it’s actually gaining market share. RIM’s revenue was $3.46 billion, up 84 percent from $1.88 billion in the year-before quarter. 

 

As for RIM’s near future, the smartphone producer forecasted that for the current quarter which ends 30 May the revenue will be somewhere between $3.3 billion and $3.5 billion and earnings per share of 88 cents to 97 cents. The number of subscribers is expected to grow with 3.7 million or as much as 3.9 million (the number it added this during the quarter that just passed). 

 

"RIM is faring well in the current environment and we continue to believe we can grow market share," said the company’s co-CEO Jim Balsillie, Reuters reported.

 

"However, we believe it is prudent to turn our attention to making sure that the operations are as streamlined as possible in case of further deterioration in the broader economy."

 

RIM also said it sold its 50 millionth BlackBerry phone.