RIM’s Financials Rock the House; Palm’s Not So Much

RIM vs PALM

Smartphone makers Research in Motion (RIM) and Palm both shared quarterly financial results today, with a very different picture emerging of each companies’ performance. RIM is continuing to ride the consumer BlackBerry train, reporting quarterly profit of $628.4 million, or $1.10 per share. This compared favorably with $475.6 million, or $0.83 per share in the previous quarter.

RIM attributes the strong performance to shipping over 10 million smartphones during the quarter. The company picked up 4.4 million new subscribers during the quarter.

Palm had to settle with painting a less bad picture with its quarterly financial results. The company reported a net loss of $85.4 million for the quarter, or $0.54 per share, down from $508.6 million or $(4.64) per diluted common share in the previous quarter. The large loss of the previous quarter included a non-cash charge of $396.7 million pertaining to U. S. tax assets. When the charge is removed, Palm’s loss in the previous quarter was $110.9 million.

Palm shipped 783,000 smartphones, while 573,000 were sell-through units. The units sold was a 29 percent decrease in unit sales for the previous quarter.

The numbers show Palm’s position is better than it was, but the company is hardly out of the woods. Let’s hope the hole in the dyke is the size a Pixi smartphone can plug next quarter.

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