BlackBerry adds 2.3 Mn new subscribers
Saturday, 28 June 2008, 17:32 IST
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Toronto: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has announced that it added 2.3 million new subscribers in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, taking its total subscriber base well above 16 million globally. The Waterloo-based technology giant also reported a quarterly profit of $485.2 million and revenue of $2.24 billion. The company also shipped a record 5.4 million new devices during the period. In a press statement Wednesday, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said: "We are pleased to report another record quarter with revenue increasing 107 percent as the popularity of the BlackBerry platform continued to spread in business, government and consumer segments. Our comprehensive technology and business strategies continue to reap strong results in the market and RIM is well positioned to build on its momentum." Looking at the immediate future, Balsillie forecast: "As we prepare this summer to ship the 40 millionth BlackBerry smartphone, we continue to steadily scale our business and partnerships to support the opportunities ahead in this thriving sector." Currently, RIM controls 13 percent of the global smartphone market. It plans to fuel its growth beyond the core business user base by introducing the new smartphone aimed at soccer moms and teenager students. Almost 40 percent of its new subscribers come from the non-business segment. Balsillie expected the newly introduced BlackBerry Bold to boost sales in Asia and the Pacific region because of the presence of the fastest, next-generation 3G cellphone networks there. RIM said it was expecting revenue in the range of $2.55-$2.65 billion in the second quarter of the fiscal year 2009. It also expected to add another 2.6 million BlackBerry subscribers during the quarter.
Source: IANS
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