Research In Motion reported a precipitous drop in quarterly profit on Thursday. The beleaguered cellphone maker was not helped by a lineup of antiquated BlackBerry dinophones and horrid sales of its “PlayBook” iPad wannabe.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company’s adjusted net profit plummeted 47% to $419 million, or 80 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $4.2 billion.
RIM shipped just 10.6 million BlackBerry phones and only a meager 200,000 PlayBook tablets in the three months ending August 27, sharply below analysts’ average estimates. No word was given on the discrepancy, if any, between units shipped and those that were actually sold.
Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s, “Co-CEO Jim Balsillie remarked that the company had ‘successfully launched a range of BlackBerry 7 smartphones around the world during the latter part of the second quarter and we are seeing strong sell-through and customer interest for these new products.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Delusional? Lying? Both? Or something(s) else entirely?
Ray reports, “Shipments of the company’s PlayBook tablet computer in the quarter totaled 200,000 units, it said, below some estimates I’d seen of half a million or so units.”
MacDailyNews Note: Shares of RIMM are currently down -$4.81, or -16.27%, to $24.75.
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: No surprises from DCW. Amateur hour is almost over.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jay in DC” for the heads up.]
The operant word in the above press release is “shipped.” I would bet my bottom dollar that the “sold” figure is less than 40% of that number (for the PlayBook).
Yeah, I saw that too. Shipped is not sold. Not to worry, I see a buy one at $99 and get a second FREE sale coming soon!
“PlayBook”, I thought they were going to call it iShouldHaveGotAniPad. Maybe it was to long or already taken. I hear that name used when people talk about the non Apple tablet they got.
Again, how did the delusional IDC get 4.3 million of non-iPad tablets latest quarter?
They estimated that tablet sales were 6.5 million in Q1, of which Apple’s share was 65%, and now Apple’s sales more than doubled in Q2 and yet the percentage share is still the about same?
To put it differently: IDC said there were 2 million non-iPad tablets sold in Q1. Now they say non-iPad tablets sales grew to 4.3 million.
While it is obvious why Apple’s iPad sales grew so dramatically — the new model finally was manufactured in more reasonable volume comparing to Q1 and people were able to buy almost as many as they wanted in Q2.
But no-name junk tablets had no problems with production in Q1, and branded non-iPad tablets barely selling.
Again, how come IDC came up with this 4.3 million of non-iPad tablet sales in Q2? Why all of sudden no-name junk tablet sales, according to them, raised out of the blue?
Hint: IDC long time ago “projected” that Apple will have 65-70% share this year, so they simply take Apple’s official sales for quarter and calculate non-iPad sales from the previously set ratio. Id est this 4.3 million of non-iPad tablet sales comes out of the blue.
That’s why projected sell-through without PBAJ, SQUID, or another sell-through vector is meaningless. It’s similar to a radar threshold below which you can no longer track. Something’s in the air, but for all practical purposes, it’s not. Something’s for sale, but for all practical purposes, it’s not.
Couldn’t happen to a more asleep-at-the-switch clueless company.
I live in Toronto and I’ve seen the PlagueBook in the stores but I’ve never seen one on the street, or Starbucks, or anywhere. DCW indeed. Get your Plague Book here!
I’ve seen them in stores, but never operational. That’s as close to seeing one in the wild as I’ve come.
I can echo that coco. I too live in Toronto and have NEVER seen a Playbook in the wild. My buddy a die hard BB user always trying to push his stuff on me, so I ask him why don`t you get a Playbook if it`s sooo superior to the iPad?….
that always shuts him down.
Wow, if you read the comments to the posted article, this is one heck of a buy position!
I never short stocks. But in the case of RIM, I’m tempted. I see nothing in the immediate future or in RIM’s strategy, if there is one, to turn the plane around. The company is clearly in a tailspin, with declining market share, sales and earnings.
This is not a buy opportunity. It’s a company in deep trouble.
It was a good short opportunity. Now it’s value has dropped so much. All the bankers are getting out. It might drop another 20% before it becomes a takeover target for it’s IP like Motorola was to GOOG.
200K? RIM delivered a KIN
There’s that word again, “shipped”.
WTF? I’ve never seen a company make a profit from “shipped” products (excepted shipping companies). Doesn’t it require “sales” of said product or service? Last I check, it cost still money to ship a products right?
Maybe if you sprinkle magic pixie dust and turn around three time each time you say “shipped”, profit might fall out of someone’s ass.
But…but….it has flash…..
Is that the sound of flushing I hear? Just RIM circling the toilet.
“sharply below analysts estimates”
one CERTAINTY of ‘analysts'”
they will always overestimate Apple’s rivals and underestimate Apple.
Every single one of 50 or so pro analysts covering Apple from Goldman Sachs, RBC etc underestimated Apple’s sales and earnings last quarter (as they have done for ever… )
R.I.M. R.I.P.
Does this mean that the amateur hour is now over?
Yes, let’s not forget what snotbags RIM have been about the iPad. “Amateur hour is over!” their Playbook ads screamed.
You know, this attitude on the part of iPad competitors really continues to amaze me. They seem to think they can say, “Thanks Apple, we’ll take it from here,” and the iPad will somehow go away.
And now we’ve got the Toshiba Thrive ads: “The first tablet to get it right.” REALLY, Toshiba? iPad has it WRONG?
Sometimes someone will post on these threads, “We should feel sorry for RIM (or whoever).” Let’s not forget their snotbaggendry. The talked big, they get what’s coming.
Launched is the same as sold? LOL
RIM needs a miracle – or else….
It’s really too bad RIM has continued to throw up on itself since the iPhone was introduced. It’s also pretty amazing that RIM can’t produce anything beyond an email-reading phone with a tiny trackball.
BB’s have the worst UI known to mankind; I never thought anyone could beat WinMo at that.
+1
Just had to setup email on a BB Curve. What the he’ll is that little square in the middle that you have to keep swiping to move around. The tiny keyboard too.
What a piece of junk.
“Those that the Gods would destroy, first they make proud.”
The minor deities are having a blast. Getting ready for the TKO.
RIM will hang in there, even with just 5% market share or less until someone buys them just for their patents …..