WATERLOO – Beleaguered Research In Motion (RIM) shook up its executive ranks after reporting its first quarterly net loss in almost seven years.
The Blackberry-maker said late Thursday that former co-CEO Jim Balsillie had resigned as a director on the company's board, and that David Yach, CTO of software, and Jim Rowan, global operations COO, were also leaving. RIM confirmed that it is seeking to hire a single COO with responsibilities to run the company's operations.
That news followed financial results that saw RIM report a $125 million net loss for the fourth quarter ended March 3, 2012, down from net income of $934 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2011.
Revenue fell 25% to $4.2 billion from $5.6 billion in the same period last year, broken out as approximately 68% for hardware, 27% for service and 5% for software and other revenue. During the quarter, RIM shipped approximately 11.1 million BlackBerry smart phones and over 500,000 PlayBook tablets. In Q3, it shipped 14.1 million smart phones and just 150,000 Playbooks.
Revenue for the fiscal year was $18.4 billion, a 7% drop from $19.9 billion in fiscal 2011, while net income plunged to $1.2 billion compared to $3.4 billion last year.
Noting an expectation of “continued pressure on revenue and earnings throughout fiscal 2013”, RIM said that it would discontinue its practice of providing specific quantitative guidance. It cited factors such as the on-going weakness in the company's U.S. smartphone business, an increased focus on selling BlackBerry 7 smart phones to grow the subscriber base in advance of the pending BlackBerry 10 launch, increasing competitive pressure in its international markets, plus the introduction of new lower tier service pricing initiatives and a higher mix of sales coming from entry level products as reasons for the decision.
President and CEO Thorsten Heins said that he is “taking the necessary steps” to address the “significant” business challenges that RIM will face over the next few quarters.
"In addition to delivering the BlackBerry 10 platform and refocusing resources on RIM's key opportunities, such as BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and new integrated service offerings, we will also drive greater operational performance through a variety of initiatives including increased management accountability and process discipline”, he said in a statement. “In parallel, we are undertaking a comprehensive review of strategic opportunities including partnerships and joint ventures, licensing, and other ways to leverage RIM's assets and maximize value for our stakeholders."
