RIM reports dismal Q4 with $125 million loss

RIM under new CEO Thorsten Heins has just announced fiscal fourth quarter earnings results, which, as expected by analysts, continued the company's losing streak for the fifth time in a row. Furthermore, the company has announced layoffs among its high-level staff and plans to stop issuing financial forecasts.

RIM has reported a net loss of $125 million on a revenue of $4.2 billion, a major drop from the $943 million net income and $5.6 billion revenue for the same quarter last year. Its adjusted earnings were 80 cents per share, missing analysts' expectations for a revenue of $4.56 billion with earnings of 83 cents per share.

Analysts estimated that BlackBerry shipments would drop to 11.3 million this past quarter, but RIM managed to do worse, reporting shipments dropping to 11.1 million. BlackBerry devices still outsell the iPhone in emerging markets, but its huge dive in US sales now leaves RIM with only an 8.2 percent share of the global smartphone market.

This is first quarter with Heins at the helm after he replaced co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis in late January. Heins appears to be taking a more critical approach and plans address operational performance and efficiency issues and review its strategic partnerships while aiming to deliver the BlackBerry 10 platform in May.

[via AllThingsD]