RIM shares rock on strong financials

Shares of Research In Motion Ltd. surged after the BlackBerry maker reported strong quarterly revenues and offered a rosy forecast for the current quarter.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based developer reported $1.88 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter, more than doubling the $930 million generated during the year-ago period. Net income for the quarter was $412.5 million, up 11% from the prior quarter and more than twice the net income during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.
RIM added 2.18 million net new BlackBerry accounts during the quarter and claimed more than 14 million total accounts at the end of the time frame. Handhelds accounted for 81% of revenues; service generated another 14%.
“Heightened retail activities helped drive exceptional subscriber growth during the fourth quarter with net subscriber account additions growing more than 32% over the previous quarter and well over 2 million net subscriber accounts added in a single quarter for the first time,” said co-CEO Jim Balsillie.
Investors — many of whom had been concerned that a slowing U.S. economy would slow RIM’s sales — greeted the news warmly. Shares of RIM soared $7.70, or nearly 7%, to $123.49 following the news.