BlackBerry smartphone maker Research In Motion said Thursday that its net income and revenue declined in the latest quarter, hurt by lower demand amid the economic slowdown and product delays.
RIM is also cutting an unspecified number of jobs to reduce costs. It gave an outlook well below Wall Street’s expectations for the current quarter and the full year.
For the three months that ended May 28, Research In Motion Ltd. earned $695 million, or $1.33 per share. That’s down from $769 million, or $1.38 per share, a year ago.
Revenue for the fiscal first quarter rose 16 percent to $4.9 billion from $4.2 billion.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of $1.32 per share on revenue of $5.1 billion.
RIM is facing fierce competition from Apple Inc.’s iPhone and smartphones that run Google Inc.’s Android operating system.
For the current quarter, RIM forecast earnings of 75 cents to $1.05 per share, excluding items. Analysts are looking for far higher earnings of $1.36 per share. The company expects revenue of $4.2 billion to $4.8 billion, below analysts’ average expectation of nearly $5.3 billion
RIM lowered its full-year earnings outlook sharply. It now expects earnings of $5.25 to $6 per share for fiscal 2012. In April, it had forecast $7.50 per share.
RIM said earlier Thursday that Don Morrison, its chief operating officer, is going on medical leave.
