Friday December 21 2007 - In the News

The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that on BlackBerrys are officially hot consumer items. The Globe's Matt Hartley writes that on Black Friday, the day after American Thanksgiving, Research in Motion added more subscribers than on any other single day in the company's history. "It is clear from the results in this quarter that BlackBerry smart phones have crossed over,"; RIM co-chief executive officer Jim Balsillie told analysts in a third-quarter conference call. "Black Friday was a record day and it used to be an unusually slow day." However, the company's sales could become harder to predict as an increasing percentage of its revenue comes from the consumer market and becomes subject to seasonal ups and downs. Driven by increased sales of the company's consumer products such as the Blackberry Pearl, RIM's revenue for the three months ended Dec. 1, 2007, hit $1.67-billion. That was more than double the $835.1-million in the same quarter last year, and 22 per cent higher than the $1.37-billion RIM generated in the prior quarter ended in September. Profit rose to $370.5-million, up from $175.1-million a year earlier. There are now more than 12 million BlackBerry users.