BlackBerry picking leaves RIM in good health

NEWS Demand for the BlackBerry mobile emailer has put manufacturer Research In Motion in a healthy position, announcing that preliminary results indicate the company's revenue will exceed previous forecasts for the second quarter, which ended 30 August 30. The company said revenue will be in the $123m to $126m range, exceeding the previous estimate of $105m to $115m. RIM attributed its upbeat results to a good summer. Chief Financial Officer Dennis Kavelman said in a statement: "RIM's business generated higher-than-expected revenue during the summer months resulting in a record quarter. Global demand for BlackBerry accelerated in both enterprise and prosumer market segments as RIM fulfilled orders to its carrier partners to satisfy new subscriber growth, hardware upgrade sales and retail channel expansion requirements." The company expects the number of new subscribers it signed up in its fiscal second quarter to be between 94,000 to 97,000, exceeding its previous estimate of 80,000 to 90,000. The total number of subscribers exceeds 700,000, the company said. The company will further discuss its second-quarter results on 25 September, when it will hold its quarterly call with investors and analysts. Richard Shim writes for News.com