Strong sales help Research In Motion Ltd double its profit

Smart phone maker Research In Motion Ltd. doubled its fiscal second-quarter profit and revenue thanks to high sales of its flagship BlackBerry products.

Photo: Strong sales help Research In Motion Ltd double its profit

For the quarter ended Sept. 1, the Canadian company earned $287.7 million (203.91 million EUR), or 50 cents per share, up from $140.2 million (99.37 million EUR), or 25 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue more than doubled to $1.37 billion (0.97 billion EUR) from $658.5 million (466.72 million EUR).

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 50 cents per share on revenue of $1.36 billion (0.96 billion EUR), according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

"RIM's second-quarter results were exceptionally strong on all metrics including revenue, subscriber account additions and net income," said Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive, in a statement. "This growth is fueled by the depth of the BlackBerry product portfolio and the continued diversification of our business across market segments and geographies.

RIM added about 1.45 million BlackBerry subscriber accounts in the quarter and shipped more than 3 million devices.

In aftermarket trading, shares fell $3.04 (2.15 EUR), or 3 percent, to $97.50 (69.10 EUR). Earlier, they rose $4.26 (3.02 EUR), or 4.4 percent, to end regular trading at $100.54 (71.26 EUR).