Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) has reported its earnings for its fourth quarter. The maker of the BlackBerry earned $1.78 EPS and $5.6 billion in revenues. Thomson Reuters had estimates of $1.76 EPS and $5.64 billion in revenues. The company also ended its quarter with $2.7 billion in cash and equivalents.
The segment revenue for the quarter was about 81% for devices, 16% for service, and 3% for software and other revenue. The company shipped approximately 14.9 million BlackBerry smartphones for a total of 52.3 million smartphones in fiscal 2011.
The company’s guidance was $1.47 EPS to $1.55 EPS and $5.2 billion to $5.6 billion in revenues. Next quarter estimates are $1.65 EPS and $5.64 billion in revenues. This is short on guidance and it noted, “This guidance range reflects a mix shift in handset towards lower ASP products in the first quarter and an increased level of investment in Research and Development and Sales and Marketing related to our tablet and platform initiatives. The guidance range is slightly wider than normal to reflect the risk of potential disruption in RIM’s supply chain as a result of the recent earthquake in Japan.” Gross margin percentage for the first quarter is expected to be about 41.5%.
RIM no sees Fiscal 2012 results of $7.50 EPS, and we would note that Thomson Reuters estimates are $6.81 EPS. The good news is that this keeps RIM in the value category and it may help keep a floor in from this getting too out of control on the downside. Unfortunately, its lower average selling price and higher expenses are hitting margins.
Research in Motion ended the March 15 settlement period with some 22.679 million shares in its short interest. That is up from the prior report but still lower than multiple periods before that.
Shares closed up over 3% at $64.09 and its 52-week trading range is $42.53 to $76.78. Shares are down more than 8% in the after-hours at $58.50. If this continues, it’s going to be a rough Friday for the BlackBerry maker.
JON C. OGG
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