RIM's BlackBerry shipments flatten, PlayBook shipments decline
Quarterly shipments of Research in Motion's BlackBerry smartphones saw a slight decline year over year to 14.1 million units, while PlayBook shipments dropped sequentially to 150,000, according to the company's latest quarterly earnings report.
The Waterloo, Ont., smartphone maker reported its earnings results for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 on Thursday, noting that BlackBerry shipments were up 33 percent from last quarter. Those numbers, however are slightly misleading, as last quarter's BlackBerry shipments already failed to meet Wall Street consensus expectations.
In the most recent quarter, RIM shipped 14.1 million BlackBerry smartphones, a 100,000 unit drop from shipments of 14.2 million during the same period of last year. The company has seen its smartphone market share drop off in recent years as newcomers Apple's iPhone and Google's Android platform have taken off. In 2006, BlackBerry smartphones held a 50 percent market share; in the third quarter of 2011, the platform took just 8 percent.
PlayBook
Shipments of RIM's PlayBook tablet further declined from 200,000 last quarter to 150,000. The company did have some good news to report, however, noting that sell-through of the tablet actually outstripped shipments for the first quarter ever. The BlackBerry maker managed to clear out excess PlayBook inventory by taking a $485 million charge on the device that allowed retailers to slash $300 off the device's price tag.
The PlayBook has turned out to be a stunning disappointment, especially given the pre-release hype built up by co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis. A year ago, Balsillie touted the then unreleased PlayBook as being "way ahead" of the iPad.
In fact, Apple's touchscreen tablet will likely soon eclipse BlackBerry smartphone sales, as RIM has guided for shipments of just 11-12 million units in the next quarter, which ends March 3, 2012. By comparison, Apple sold 11.12 million iPads in the September quarter and is expected to sell at roughly 13 million in the December quarter.
Co-CEOs explain
Balsillie and Lazaridis apologized for the company's performance by reducing their salaries to $1, The Globe and Mail reports.
?We ask for your patience and confidence,? Lazaridis said during a conference call with analysts. ?We realize we've not met expectations.?
According to the report, the two CEOs blamed diminishing interest in BlackBerry devices on failures in marketing and advertising, promising a "comprehensive" campaign for its latest handsets.
Though RIM had warned in early December that it would miss its earnings projections due to "lower sell-through and demand" for its products, its bleak outlook has analysts questioning the firm's survival. Wall Street was especially disappointed by the company's revelation that further delays would mean handsets based on the new BlackBerry 10 software won't arrive until late 2012.
The news could mean "the final nail in RIM's coffin,? National Bank Financial analyst Kris Thompson said. ?It's likely game over for RIM. A turnaround is very, very speculative ? This is truly a sad day.?
?Next quarter's BlackBerry outlook is troubling given that it includes December sales, which is a traditionally very strong sales month for RIM,? said IDC mobility analyst Kevin Restivo. ?The BlackBerry 10 delay sets the stage for a potentially rockier shorter term.?
The Waterloo, Ont., smartphone maker reported its earnings results for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 on Thursday, noting that BlackBerry shipments were up 33 percent from last quarter. Those numbers, however are slightly misleading, as last quarter's BlackBerry shipments already failed to meet Wall Street consensus expectations.
In the most recent quarter, RIM shipped 14.1 million BlackBerry smartphones, a 100,000 unit drop from shipments of 14.2 million during the same period of last year. The company has seen its smartphone market share drop off in recent years as newcomers Apple's iPhone and Google's Android platform have taken off. In 2006, BlackBerry smartphones held a 50 percent market share; in the third quarter of 2011, the platform took just 8 percent.
PlayBook
Shipments of RIM's PlayBook tablet further declined from 200,000 last quarter to 150,000. The company did have some good news to report, however, noting that sell-through of the tablet actually outstripped shipments for the first quarter ever. The BlackBerry maker managed to clear out excess PlayBook inventory by taking a $485 million charge on the device that allowed retailers to slash $300 off the device's price tag.
The PlayBook has turned out to be a stunning disappointment, especially given the pre-release hype built up by co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis. A year ago, Balsillie touted the then unreleased PlayBook as being "way ahead" of the iPad.
In fact, Apple's touchscreen tablet will likely soon eclipse BlackBerry smartphone sales, as RIM has guided for shipments of just 11-12 million units in the next quarter, which ends March 3, 2012. By comparison, Apple sold 11.12 million iPads in the September quarter and is expected to sell at roughly 13 million in the December quarter.
Co-CEOs explain
Balsillie and Lazaridis apologized for the company's performance by reducing their salaries to $1, The Globe and Mail reports.
?We ask for your patience and confidence,? Lazaridis said during a conference call with analysts. ?We realize we've not met expectations.?
According to the report, the two CEOs blamed diminishing interest in BlackBerry devices on failures in marketing and advertising, promising a "comprehensive" campaign for its latest handsets.
Though RIM had warned in early December that it would miss its earnings projections due to "lower sell-through and demand" for its products, its bleak outlook has analysts questioning the firm's survival. Wall Street was especially disappointed by the company's revelation that further delays would mean handsets based on the new BlackBerry 10 software won't arrive until late 2012.
The news could mean "the final nail in RIM's coffin,? National Bank Financial analyst Kris Thompson said. ?It's likely game over for RIM. A turnaround is very, very speculative ? This is truly a sad day.?
?Next quarter's BlackBerry outlook is troubling given that it includes December sales, which is a traditionally very strong sales month for RIM,? said IDC mobility analyst Kevin Restivo. ?The BlackBerry 10 delay sets the stage for a potentially rockier shorter term.?
Comments
To whom?
How may idiots are there in the world?
According to the report, the two CEOs blamed diminishing interest in BlackBerry devices on failures in marketing and advertising, promising a "comprehensive" campaign for its latest handsets.
Bullshit! There working products are antiquated and their modern products are incomplete. All their problems stem from poor management, not from "failures in marketing in advertising."
Bullshit!
Seems to be your favorite word today.
Even though I know "business is business" and there isn't room for emotion in business... I still feel a bit bad for these guys! They didn't keep pace with technology and now they're paying the price. In their case, there isn't a Steve Jobs at NeXT who they can bring back on board to straighten things out. They've had one disaster after another: I remember the interest I felt upon hearing they were going to release an "iPhone Killer" in the Storm (because at that time IT departments weren't embracing consumer devices like the iPhone yet) and couldn't believe the turd it turned out to be! And their PlayBook... what the hell were they thinking???
I don't have the credibility to say it (I'm just a guy who likes technology) but I think they're doomed.
Bullshit! There working products are antiquated and their modern products are incomplete. All their problems stem from poor management, not from "failures in marketing in advertising."
Seems to be your favorite word today.
I was getting tired of explaining the same point over and over to deaf ears so I decided to try something a little abrupt and succinct. Result: That doesn't work either.
Bullshit! There working products are antiquated and their modern products are incomplete. All their problems stem from poor management, not from "failures in marketing in advertising."
Yup. I never understood their decision to rush the PlayBook out the door and without native email capability. Sadly, even if they hadn't rushed it, it probably still would have failed.
They actually sold 150K Playbooks.
To whom?
How may idiots are there in the world?
Well, they sold them at a huge loss. Playbooks were advertised at $199 on black Friday, so many people bought that instead of a Kindle Fire. But this is the only way people will buy the Playbook. At a huge loss for RIM. Something tells me the atockholders won't stamd for that.
They actually sold 150K Playbooks.
To whom?
How may idiots are there in the world?
No, they shipped 150K units. Probably mostly to channel partners, none of which have sold out of inventory.
Realistically, they sold 75K units for the quarter, 25K per month. Not sure what the return rate is for RIM PlayBooks. But even that number is wonky. It's possible that the channel is stuffed with inventory (which forced them to drop the price to $199).
By contrast, the return rate on Apple products is quite low and they will sell out of refurbs, basically meaning that every single unit is sold. Apple's refurbs typically get light price markdowns. Any significant discounts are quite temporary.
Nothing makes sense anymore ...
p.s. For the sarcastically challenged ... this is sarcasm.
Bullshit! There working products are antiquated and their modern products are incomplete. All their problems stem from poor management, not from "failures in marketing in advertising."
Those clowns will do anything to keep their positions. How they still there is beyond belief! It is shame to see such once great company trapped in a death spiral because of two clueless idiots behind the wheel.
they sell 14 million units and they are dead? Common, maybe declining but far from dead.
They haven' turned off the lights, chained the doors, and nailed crocked pieces of wood across the windows, so technically they aren't dead. But they are hemorrhaging money, have little to no focus on how to correct their issues after many failed attempts. They keep giving us promises that are more pathetic than when Android users tell us "soooon". So let's not say they are dead, but we can say they are at least circling the drain.
...they [RIM] are dead? Common, maybe declining but far from dead.
Do you hear that?
The ghost of PALM past wants its 2007 statement.
The tiny ghost of PALM present haunts only the corridors of HP with WebOS, its body having withered into oblivion.
There is no ghost of PALM future.
- There is no visionary knight in shining armour to save RIM.
- Any mobile company can make a handset with a QWERTY keyboard.
- BIS with its outages has lost any illusion of it being more reliable than using Exchange, IMAP or even Google Talk or iMessage
.The two co-emperors stand before the world naked of any ideas that will save RIM from the wolves of the smartphone industry.
RIP RIM
I was just going to post the same.
No, they shipped 150K units. Probably mostly to channel partners, none of which have sold out of inventory.
Realistically, they sold 75K units for the quarter, 25K per month.
I think you need to read the article again. Clearly you missed this bit:
The company did have some good news to report, however, noting that sell-through of the tablet actually outstripped shipments for the first quarter ever.
That means that PlayBook sales were more than the 150,000 shipped number. But, as others have mentioned the only reason they could do this was by selling at a loss - clearly not sustainable.