RIM shares up on strong Q2 earnings

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) saw its stock bounce up 4% on second-quarter results that included revenue up 31% from last year and earnings per share up 76% from a year ago.
Revenue for the second quarter, which ended Aug. 28, stood at $4.62 billion, up 9% from the previous quarter and 31% from $3.53 billion a year ago. Nearly 80% of the revenue came from devices. RIM said it shipped 12.1 million devices in the three-month period.
Going forward, co-CEO Jim Balsillie said he expects the momentum to continue. “We expect a continuation of this momentum in the third quarter as we extend the rollout of new products including the BlackBerry Torch into additional markets and benefit from heavy promotional activities and increasing customer demand as we head into the holiday buying season.”
Net income for the quarter was $796.7 million, up 31% from a year ago and 3.6% quarter to quarter. The company said it expects to add between 5 million and 5.4 million net subscribers in the third quarter, with revenues of between $5.3 billion and $5.5 billion.
In a conference call, Balsillie said the company continues to work with foreign governments like United Arab Emirates and India to calm their security concerns.
Latin America and Asia were strong growth areas for RIM, as 52% of revenue was generated outside the United States. While the company saw lower-than-expected sales in the United States early in the quarter but the launch of the Torch in late August contributed to meaningful sales.
Torch is the most successful GSM BlackBerry sold in the United States, the company said. Sales in new markets during the holiday buying season should help RIM sales going forward.