RIM Shares Fall after Reduced Profit Forecast

By Bizclik Editor

 

Research In Motion issued late Thursday an altered first quarter financial guidance, leading to a plummet in shares more than 13 per cent today.

Reducing company credibility, RIM lowered its outlook changing figures that were originally valued at $1.47-$1.55 to $1.30-$1.37. The shortfall, RIM states, is due to shipment volumes of BlackBerry smartphones that are forecasted to be lower than expected. BlackBerry shipments are now estimated to come in at the low end of a range of 13.5 million to 14.5 million. 

Aging BlackBerrys and delays in new-product introductions are what RIM specifically speculates led to lower BlackBerry sales in the US and Latin America. 

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Low BlackBerry sales paired with less than spectacular BlackBerry Playbook sales are making analysts lose faith in RIM. According the The Wall Street Journal, this news has prompted analysts to downgrade RIM’s ratings. 

"We really want to believe, but...as much as we like the stock (and we have until now), last night's warning caps what has been a string of strategic and execution missteps," Cormark Securities analyst Richard Tse said in a note Friday.

Mr Tse, himself, lowered RIM’s rating from buy to reduce and lowered the company’s share price target from $75 to $45. He is not the only analyst that has downgraded RIM’s shares. 

This is unfortunate news on the eve of the BlackBerry World conference that starts Monday in Orlando, Florida. New devices that run on revamped BlackBerry operating systems are expected to be introduced at the conference. 
 
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