Research In Motion Reports Third Quarter Results

WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 17, 2009) - Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM), a world leader in the mobile communications market, today reported third quarter results for the three months ended November 28, 2009 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S. GAAP, except where indicated).

Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 was $3.92 billion, up 11% from $3.53 billion in the previous quarter and up 41% from $2.78 billion in the same quarter of last year. The revenue breakdown for the quarter was approximately 82% for devices, 14% for service, 2% for software and 2% for other revenue. During the quarter, RIM shipped approximately 10.1 million devices, including its 75 millionth BlackBerry smartphone.

Approximately 4.4 million net new BlackBerry(R) subscriber accounts were added in the quarter. At the end of the quarter, the total BlackBerry subscriber account base was approximately 36 million.

"We are pleased to report record shipments of more than 10 million BlackBerry smartphones during the third quarter with higher than expected revenue, earnings and subscriber growth," said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion. "RIM is experiencing a great start to the holiday buying season and the strong Q3 results and Q4 outlook clearly reflect the strength of our diversified product portfolio as well as the success of our efforts to expand into broader customer segments and new geographies while maintaining our strong position in North America."

Net income for the quarter was $628.4 million, or $1.10 per share diluted, compared with net income of $475.6 million, or $0.83 per share diluted, in the prior quarter and net income of $396.3 million, or $0.69 per share diluted, in the same quarter last year. The earnings per share in the quarter was not impacted by repurchases under RIM's Common Share Repurchase program.

Revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 ending February 27, 2010 is expected to be in the range of $4.2-$4.4 billion. Gross margin for Q4 is expected to be approximately 43.5%. Net subscriber account additions in the fourth quarter are expected to be in the range of 4.4-4.7 million. Earnings per share for the fourth quarter are expected to be in the range of $1.23-$1.31 per share diluted. This reflects a positive impact of approximately $0.03 per share related to the cancellation of 12.3 million shares repurchased under RIM's share repurchase program during the third quarter.

The total of cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments was $2.41 billion as at November 28, 2009, compared to $2.50 billion at the end of the previous quarter, a decrease of $90 million over the prior quarter. Cash flow from operations in Q3 was approximately $1.07 billion. Uses of cash in the quarter included capital expenditures of approximately $196 million, intangible asset purchases of approximately $143 million and a common share repurchase pursuant to the share repurchase program of $775 million.

A conference call and live webcast will be held beginning at 5 pm ET, December 17, 2009, which can be accessed by dialing 800-733-7571 (North America), 416-915-5761 (outside North America). The replay of the company's Q3 conference call can be accessed after 7 pm ET, December 17, 2009 until midnight ET, December 31, 2009. It can be accessed by dialing 416-640-1917 and entering passcode 4189541#. The conference call will also be available on the RIM website live at 5 pm ET and will be archived at http://www.rim.com/investors/events/index.shtml.