BlackBerry Sales Beat iPhone In RIM's Latest Quarter

On December 16, RIM reported earnings for its third fiscal quarter. The company sold 14.2 million BlackBerry devices worldwide. That number puts RIM back ahead of Apple in terms of quarterly sales, as Apple sold 14.1 million iPhones in its more recent quarter.

According to RIM, device sales grew 40% compared to the year-ago quarter. Sales jumped significantly from the 12.1 million BlackBerries sold in the previous quarter, a change of more than 17%. RIM said its total subscriber base has surpassed 55 million Blackberry users. RIM didn't provide information regarding devices sales in specific markets.

"We are pleased to report another record quarter with strong growth in shipments of BlackBerry smartphones leading to record revenue, subscriber additions and earnings. RIM’s business continues to grow and diversify as BlackBerry adoption accelerates in markets around the world," said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion in a prepared statement.

RIM attributed much of its quarterly growth to sales of the BlackBerry 9800 Torch, the first BlackBerry to ship with the BlackBerry 6 operating system on board. It went on sale in early August, and is available from AT&T in the U.S.

"With strong results and momentum from our recent product introductions, as well as growing excitement from our partners and customers around upcoming smartphone, tablet, software and service offerings, we are setting the stage for continuing success."

Revenue for its fiscal third quarter was $5.49 billion, up 19% from $4.62 billion in the previous quarter and up 40% from $3.92 billion in the same quarter of last year. RIM's net income reached $911.1 million, compared with net income of $796.7 million in the prior quarter.

RIM said approximately 82% of its quarterly revenue came from device sales, 15% for services rendered, and 3% for software and other services.

Speaking in a conference call after the report was published, RIM's CEOs predicted a strong fourth fiscal quarter.