Shares of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIMM) have been halted this afternoon ahead of the company’s impending fiscal Q4 report.
The latest quote for the stock appears to have been $14.11, a 3% gain, at approximately 4:15 pm, Eastern. There is no indication yet from Nasdaq of the resumption trade time.
Update: A report by Iain Marlow of Canada’s The Globe and Mail this afternoon states that CEO Thorsten Heins is “getting rid of high-level staff,” citing an anonymous source “close to the company.”
Update 2: RIM reported Q4 revenue and profit below analysts’ expectations.
Revenue in the three months ended in February fell 19%, year over year, to $4.2 billion, yielding EPS of 80 cents.
On a GAAP basis, the company reported a net loss of $125 million, or 24 cents a share.
The company shipped 11.1 million BlackBerry units, toward the low end of its forecast for 11 to 12 million units.
The company sold over 500,000 PlayBook tablet computers, ahead of Street estimates for about half that many.
The Street had been modeling $4.54 billion in revenue and 81 cents EPS.
Jim Balsillie, former Co-CEO of RIM, has resigned as a director, RIM said.
Along with Balsillie, RIM announced CTO David Yach is stepping down after 13 years at the company, as is 4-year veteran Jim Rowan, COO. RIM is currently seeking candidates for COO, it said.
CEO Heins said the company had many opportunities, but also “significant challenges” in coming quarters, and said the company would explore a variety of possibilities, including partnerships and joint ventures:
I have confirmed that the Company has substantial strengths that can be further leveraged to improve our financial performance, including RIM’s global network infrastructure, a strong enterprise offering and a large and growing base of more than 77 million subscribers. I’m very excited about the prospects for the BlackBerry 10 platform, which is on track for the latter part of calendar 2012. Notwithstanding these strengths and opportunities, the business challenges we face over the next several quarters are significant and I am taking the necessary steps to address them. In addition to delivering the BlackBerry 10 platform and refocusing resources on RIM’s key opportunities, such as BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and new integrated service offerings, we will also drive greater operational performance through a variety of initiatives including increased management accountability and process discipline. In parallel, we are undertaking a comprehensive review of strategic opportunities including partnerships and joint ventures, licensing, and other ways to leverage RIM’s assets and maximize value for our stakeholders.
Predicting further pressure on revenue and profit this fiscal year ending next February, RIM said it would discontinue “quantitative guidance“:
The company expects continued pressure on revenue and earnings throughout fiscal 2013. Due to a desire to focus on long term value creation and the current business environment, RIM will no longer provide specific quantitative guidance. Some of the factors contributing to this include, ongoing weakness in the Company’s U.S. smartphone business, an increased focus on selling BlackBerry 7 smartphones to grow the subscriber base in advance of the BlackBerry 10 launch, increasing competitive pressure in the Company’s international markets and the introduction of certain new lower tier service pricing initiatives and a higher mix of sales coming from entry level products.
RIM will host a conference call with management at 5 pm, Eastern time, and you can catch the webcast of it here.
Update 3: RIM stock is indicated to resume trading in the aftermarket at 5:10 pm, Eastern.
Update 4: RIM stock has resumed trading and is now down $1.08, or 8%, at $12.65 58 cents, or 4%, at $13.15.
Update 5: The stock has recovered substantially from the initial drop, now down just 35 cents, or 2.6%, at $13.38.
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