RIM cuts around 2,000 jobs; Shuffles management

RIM announced today that in addition to some management changes, they are cutting about 2,000 employees from their workforce. We knew that some slimming down was on the way for RIM, but weren’t sure of the exact number of employees that would be lost. More on the cuts and other “expense reductions” will be known after the RIM’s next earnings call in mid-September.

“The workforce reduction is believed to be a prudent and necessary step for the long term success of the company and it follows an extended period of rapid growth within the company whereby the workforce had nearly quadrupled in the last five years alone.”

Both Jim Balsille and Mike Lazaridis will retain their co-CEO positions for now however. Along with the cuts comes some movement among management positions at RIM as well. Just a few days ago RIM lost Ryan Bidan to Samsung, and RIM today has announced the retirement of their Chief Operating Officer Don Morrison as well. Keep reading for the full press release.

NEI Investments Withdrawals Proposal to Split RIM Co-CEOs

NEI Investments had previously filled a lawsuit against RIM which demanded their Co-CEOs be split in the interest of the shareholders. Well today, via a press release we have learned NEI has withdrawn this proposal and has instead opted to form a review committee for this purpose.

• Check out the full press release below:

Press Release: Research In Motion Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2012 Results and Revises Full Year Guidance

Here are the numbers!

 

Press Release

Research In Motion Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2012 Results and Revises Full Year Guidance

Announces Plans to Streamline Operations and Accelerate New Product Introductions

Board of Directors Approves Share Repurchase Program

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – June 16, 2011) – Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM), a world leader in the mobile communications market, today reported first quarter results for the three months ended May 28, 2011 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S. GAAP).

Highlights:

• Revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 grew 16% over the same quarter last year
• International revenue1 in Q1 grew 67% year over year
• Gross margin in the quarter was approximately 44%, slightly higher than expected due to product mix
• RIM launched the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in North America and shipped approximately 500,000 units in the first quarter

Q1 Fiscal 2012 Results:

Press Release: Research In Motion Provides Updated Q1 Guidance

At the close of the markets today RIM fired off a press release letting investors know they’ve adjusted their forecasted revenue down from the guidance provided last quarter. The drop is due to less phone sales than expected, with a bigger portion of the sales mix coming from lower end phones than expected. The press release is below to read, but if you’re by the computer at 5:30pm EDT you can jump on the live webcast to hear RIM talk about the numbers (I’m curious to see if they have anything to say about the PlayBook launch).

Press Release

RIM reports Q4 earnings; revenue misses estimates despite record shipments

Shares of Research in Motion stock declined over 12% after hours on Thursday as the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings for its 2011 fiscal year. RIM reported revenue that missed Wall Street’s consensus on device shipments that exceeded expectations by 200,000 units. Fourth-quarter revenue came in at $5.6 billion, just below the $5.64 billion analysts expected. Device shipments for the quarter totalled 14.9 million units, beating estimates of 14.7 million units, and full-year shipments were a record 52.3 million units — a 43% improvement over the year prior. Full-year revenue of $19.9 billion grew 33% over the 2010 fiscal year and net income was up 47% year-over-year to $3.4 billion. “We are pleased to report record shipments and financial performance in fiscal 2011,” said RIM’s Co-CEO Jim Balsillie in a statement. “As we enter fiscal 2012, RIM is in an excellent position to benefit from the continuing convergence of the mobile communications and mobile computing markets. We are laying a strong foundation for RIM’s expanding market opportunity through focused investments and we are extremely excited about our smartphone, tablet and platform roadmaps.” Hit the break for the full press release.

Press Release: BlackBerry App World Now Available In Over 100 Markets

Press Release

BlackBerry App World Now Available In Over 100 Markets

Discover, download and enjoy a wide range of applications from BlackBerry App World, now available in 27 additional markets

WATERLOO, ONTARIO and BARCELONA, SPAIN–(Marketwire – Feb. 14, 2011) – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced that BlackBerry App World™ is now available in 27 additional markets worldwide. With today’s announcement, BlackBerry App World is now available in 101 markets. BlackBerry App World allows customers to discover, download and enjoy a wide range of mobile applications for their BlackBerry® smartphones.

BlackBerry smartphone users are downloading more than 2 million apps per day from BlackBerry App World on average and there are over 20,000 BlackBerry apps available today. RIM continues to support developers in order to provide apps that leverage the many advantages of the BlackBerry platform and deliver best-in-class mobile experiences.

“There is high demand for BlackBerry apps and we’re delighted to be opening up the BlackBerry App World online store to customers in an additional 27 markets today,” said Alan Brenner, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Platform, Research In Motion. “It’s never been easier to develop apps for BlackBerry smartphones and we look forward to seeing the rich catalog of personal and business oriented apps continue to grow.”

The BlackBerry App World online store is available for all BlackBerry smartphones with a trackball, trackpad or touch screen running BlackBerry OS (device software) 4.5 or higher. Customers can download BlackBerry App World through their computer or directly from their smartphone by visiting www.blackberry.com/appworld or mobile.blackberry.com. BlackBerry App World can then be conveniently accessed over both Wi-Fi® and mobile phone networks and will automatically present users with the relevant catalog of applications available for their specific BlackBerry smartphone model.

Press Release: Research In Motion Makes Lead Commitment to Second BlackBerry Partners Fund

Press Release

Research In Motion Makes Lead Commitment to Second BlackBerry Partners Fund

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Feb. 14, 2011) – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) and the BlackBerry® Partners Fund today announced that RIM is making a lead commitment to BlackBerry Partners Fund II, a new US$150 million independent venture capital fund focused exclusively on mobile computing. BlackBerry Partners Fund II is expected to launch in June 2011 and will have a broader international mandate than the first Fund.

“We are very pleased with the positive impact of the first Fund on our mobile ecosystem and we look forward to BlackBerry Partners Fund II bringing additional resources and support to mobile innovators in a broader range of international markets,” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion.

“We are very fortunate to have RIM as an anchor investor and partner in our Fund and greatly anticipate expanding our reach and the geographical scope of Fund II,” said John Albright, Co-Managing Partner of BlackBerry Partners Fund.

The first BlackBerry Partners Fund was established in 2008 in collaboration with Research In Motion, Thomson Reuters, Royal Bank of Canada and a roster of high profile investors. The Fund has made 13 investments to-date in mobile start-ups in Canada, the United States, Israel and Ireland. The Fund brings capital, resources and domain expertise to the partnerships it forms with exceptional entrepreneurs around the world who are shaping the future of the mobile eco-system.

Press Release: EA's Need for Speed and Tetris Coming to BlackBerry PlayBook at Launch

Update: We reached out to RIM and it does look like these will both be full versions. Tetris will be pre-installed and a “lite” version of Need For Speed will be installed with the full version downloading when you have Wifi coverage.

I was wondering what games we would see come preloaded on the BlackBerry PlayBook at launch. While I was sort of hoping for a souped up version of BrickBreaker, it looks like RIM is going a different route. They are really trying to put the play in PlayBook… coming preloaded on the BlackBerry PlayBook at launch is going to be EA’s Need for Speed Undercover and Tetris.  And based on the press release, we’re not talking demo versions of the games here, but the full thing (at least that better be the case!). Keep reading for the full press release. RIM will be demoing the games next week in Barcelona at MWC, so we’ll soon see the action for realz. Does this make you even more excited to get your PlayBook? Do you think we’ll still see BrickBreaker in some form (I sure hope so!). Sound off in the comments!

Press Release

Amazon MP3 Music Store Comes to BlackBerry in the U.S.

RIM let us know this morning that Amazon’s MP3 Music Store is now available for BlackBerry smartphones. The new Amazon music store brings over 14 million songs to your BlackBerry and can be shared with your friends via BBM, Facebook, and Twitter. Best of all of the new Amazon MP3 app intergrates with the BlackBerry 6 Universal Search function, which means you can search for music right from your home screen. You can grab the Amazon MP3 app from BlackBerry App World for free.

* We should note that this app is only available to those in the United States at this time.

 

Press Release:

Music on the Move-RIM and Amazon Launch Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry Smartphones
New app makes the Amazon MP3 store a seamless multimedia experience on BlackBerry smartphones

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Dec. 14, 2010) – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) and Amazon today launched Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry(R) smartphones in beta in the U.S. The new app gives BlackBerry smartphone users access to Amazon’s entire music catalog of over 14 million songs for easy purchase and download.(i)

Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones lets users discover songs, artists and albums, then lets them buy and download tracks from Amazon with just a few clicks. The app also offers delivery options to suit all data plans, so tracks can be downloaded over Wi-Fi(R) or cellular networks. Users are able to easily share their latest musical finds with their friends by sending comments and links for specific tracks through BBM(TM) (BlackBerry(R) Messenger), email, SMS, Twitter and Facebook(R).

“Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones makes it fun and easy to get new music and we’re thrilled to work with Amazon to bring this service to users,” said Alistair Mitchell, Vice President, BBM Platform and Integrated Services. “Users can directly access Amazon MP3′s massive catalogue to easily find, preview and buy music through the BlackBerry media player, and then share their thoughts with their social circle, giving them a uniquely BlackBerry experience that combines communications with multimedia.”

Other key features of Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones include:

–  Music Discoverability – Browse the Amazon catalog by what’s new, top
songs, top albums and genres; choose from over a million albums, and 14
million songs – all competitively priced and DRM free
–  New Music Deals Everyday – Check back daily for a free song of the day
and daily album deals
–  Bookmarks – Easily bookmark songs or albums for preview or to download
at a later time
–  Gift Cards – Redeem promotional or Amazon gift card codes directly from
the app
–  Preview – Listen to a 30-second sample before buying
–  Parental Control – Adjust the explicit content control settings

Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones is also integrated with the universal search feature on handsets running the new BlackBerry(R) 6 operating system. Users can simply start typing the title or artist from the home screen of their BlackBerry smartphone and Amazon MP3 will appear as a search option.

Availability

Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones is now available in beta for BlackBerry smartphone users in the U.S. on BlackBerry App World(TM) in the Test Center. For more information please visit http://www.blackberry.com/amazonmp3.

Research in Motion Q2 Fiscal 2011 Results Announced

* Update – After hours trading has the stock up over 7% on RIM’s record profits. The Globe and Mail just posted a good article summarizing everything – read it here. It’s clear a lot of the current sales and growth are coming internationally while North America is flattening out a bit with the competition from Apple and Android increasing. Listening to the Q&A though, the team seem very upbeat about the future quarters and Jim said we’re going to be pleasantly surprised at DevCon, which kicks off on Sept. 27th. I can’t wait! *

Research in Motion just posted their 2nd Quarter fiscal 2011 results (yes 2011 is right… that’s how RIM reports. not a typo)….  the investors call starts at 5pm ET so tune in if you want to hear from RIM’s Co-CEO Jim Balsillie first hand on their performance (I’ll be listening). You can listen here. We’ll report back with more once the call is over. In the meantime, check out the press release below!

Press Release