RIM Earnings Even Worse Than Expected

Oh dear. BlackBerry manufacturer RIM has coughed up its second fiscal quarter results, and they’re not pretty. In fact, they’re downright ugly. The company’s revenue was down 10 per cent from last year, and it managed to ship only 200,000 PlayBooks.

We’ll be listening in on RIM’s call to discuss earnings and will update as warranted. But for now… yikes. And even worse: all those reasons RIM is screwed? They still totally apply.

September 15, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RESEARCH IN MOTION REPORTS SECOND QUARTER FISCAL 2012
RESULTS

Waterloo, ON — Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM), a world leader in the mobile communications market, today reported second quarter results for the three months ended August 27, 2011 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S. GAAP, except where otherwise indicated).

Highlights:

– Revenue in the second quarter was $US4.2 billion and service revenue surpassed $US1 billion for the first time
– GAAP net income of $US329 million or $US0.63 per fully diluted share; adjusted net income of $US419 million or $US0.80 per fully diluted share
– The BlackBerry subscriber base grew 40% year over year to surpass 70 million
– RIM’s largest roll-out of BlackBerry smartphones was initiated with seven new smartphones launched with over 90 carrier and distribution partners in 30 countries during the latter part of

Q2

– Approximately $US780 million was invested as part of a consortium of companies that successfully bid to acquire intellectual property assets from Nortel

– BlackBerry smartphone shipments in Q3 are estimated to grow between 27-37% over Q2 shipments

Q2 Results:

Revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 was $US4.2 billion, down 15% from $US4.9 billion in the previous quarter and down 10% from $US4.6 billion in the same quarter of last year. The revenue breakdown for the quarter was approximately 73% for hardware, 24% for service, and 3% for software and other revenue. During the quarter, RIM shipped approximately 10.6 million BlackBerry smartphones and approximately 200,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

“We successfully launched a range of BlackBerry 7 smartphones around the world during the latter part of the second quarter and we are seeing strong sell-through and customer interest for these new products.

Overall unit shipments in the quarter were slightly below our forecast due to lower than expected demand for older models,” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “We will continue to build on the success of the BlackBerry 7 launch to drive the business as we focus our development efforts on delivering the next generation, QNX-based mobile platform next year.”

The Company’s GAAP net income for the quarter was $US329 million, or $US0.63 per share diluted, compared with GAAP net income of $US695 million, or $US1.33 per share diluted, in the prior quarter and net income of $US797 million, or $US1.46 per share diluted, in the same quarter last year. Adjusted net income for the second quarter was $US419 million, or $US0.80 per share diluted. Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share exclude the impact of a pre-tax one-time charge of $US118 million for the Company’s cost optimisation program that was implemented in the second quarter of fiscal 2012. Details on the cost optimisation program are available in the Company’s press release dated July 25, 2011 as well as in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for the fiscal period ended August 27, 2011, which will be filed shortly. This charge and its related impacts on net income and diluted EPS are summarized in the table below. Net Income Diluted EPS

As reported 329 $US0.63 $

Adjustment:
Cost optimization program, net of income tax
(1)
0.17 90
Adjusted 419 $US0.80 $

Reconciliation of GAAP net income to adjusted net income

For the quarter ended August 27, 2011

Note: Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share do not have any standardised meaning prescribed by GAAP and thus are not comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other issuers. The Company believes that the presentation of adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share enables the Company and its shareholders to better assess RIM’s operating results relative to its operating results in prior periods and improves the comparability of the information presented. Investors should consider these non-GAAP financial measures in the context of RIM’s GAAP results.

(1) During the second quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company implemented a cost optimization program to streamline operations across the organisation. The Company incurred approximately $US118 million in total pre-tax charges related to the cost optimisation program. Substantially all the pre-tax charges are related to one-time employee termination benefits and the identification and elimination of redundant facilities, with the charges included in the relevant line items in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations. During the second quarter of fiscal 2012 pre-tax charges of approximately $US13 million were included in cost of sales, charges of approximately $US19 million were included in research and development, and charges of approximately $US86 million were included in selling, marketing and administration expenses. Additional charges for headcount related costs associated with our cost optimisation program may also be incurred in subsequent quarters.

(United States dollars, in millions except per share data)

The total of cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments was $US1.4 billion as at August 27, 2011, compared to $US2.9 billion at the end of the previous quarter, a decrease of $US1.5 billion from the prior quarter. Uses of cash included strategic purchases of intellectual property assets associated with RIM’s participation in a consortium of companies that successfully bid to acquire Nortel Networks Corporation’s patent portfolio, of which RIM’s cost is approximately $US780 million, capital expenditures of approximately $US285 million, and working capital requirements.

Q3 and FY2012 Outlook

Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 ending November 26, 2011 is expected to be in the range of $US5.3-$US5.6 billion. Gross margin percentage for the third quarter is expected to be approximately 37%.

BlackBerry smartphone shipments are expected to be between 13.5 million and 14.5 million units.

Adjusted earnings per share for the third quarter, excluding the impact of charges related to the Company’s cost optimisation program, is expected to be in the range of $US1.20-$1.40. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the full year fiscal 2012, excluding the impact of charges related to the Company’s cost optimisation program, is expected to be towards the low end of the previously guided range of $US5.25-$US6. Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call and live webcast will be held beginning at 5 pm ET, September 15, 2011, which can be accessed by dialling 1-877-974-0445 (North America), (+1)416-644-3414 (outside North America) or through your personal computer or BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet at www.rim.com/investors/events/index.shtml. A replay of the conference call will also be available at approximately 7 pm ET by dialling (+1)416-640-1917 and entering passcode 4466490#. A replay of the webcast will be available on your personal computer or BlackBerry PlayBook tablet by clicking the link above. This replay will be available until midnight ET, September 29, 2011.

About Research In Motion Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionised the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. Today, BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. RIM is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market

(NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit

www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.


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