WATERLOO, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) expects net subscriber account additions for its fourth quarter to be at least 20% higher than originally forecasted last December.
The BlackBerry maker originally estimated that it would see 2.9 million net subscriber account additions for the quarter. But “record levels” of additions throughout the month, followed by “strong levels” after the holiday buying season will help to push this number beyond expectations in North America and internationally, the company announced.
"We are pleased with our leadership and momentum in the market after shipping our 50 millionth BlackBerry smart phone in January, and introducing a range of new products that are achieving exceptional early results and helping attract record levels of new customers to the BlackBerry platform”, said Jim Balsillie, RIM’s co-CEO, in the statement.
The company said that it expects net subscriber account additions in its first quarter “to reflect a more normalized average weekly run-rate”.
RIM also reaffirmed its financial guidance for the fourth quarter, predicting revenue to be at or near the mid-point of the previously guided range. Gross margin and earnings per share for the quarter are expected to be at the low end of the previously guided ranges.
Various factors, including product mix, lowered channel inventory levels and an increased ratio of new subscriber sales to upgrade and replacement sales, are contributing to the degree of outperformance in subscriber growth relative to revenue and earnings performance within the quarter, the release continued.
