BlackBerry to slash jobs; net profit, stock plunge

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM)sank more than 15% during after-hours trading after Canada’s top technology company released first-quarter results.

Updated on: Jun 17, 2011, 23:03:30 IST

IANS | By HT Correspondent, Toronto

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BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM)sank more than 15% during after-hours trading after Canada’s top technology company released first-quarter results.

As Waterloo-based RIM posted a much-lower-than-expected net income of $695 million compared to $934 million in the previous quarter, investors dumped the embattled icon, plunging its stock below $30 for the first time since 2006.

The first quarterly revenue of $4.9 billion is down 12% from $5.6 billion in the year-ago period.

The forecast for the next quarter is a dismal $4.2-4.8 billion — about $1 billion less than expected. Hammered by Apple’s iPhone and Google Android devices, the once smartphone market leader announced “headcount reduction” to cut costs.

“This realignment will be focused on taking out redundancies and a reallocation of resources to allow us to focus on the areas that offer the highest growth opportunities,” RIM said.

RIM reported shipment of 13.2 million smart phones and 500,000 PlayBook tablets during the quarter.

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