BlackBerry sales double in a year

There are now nine million BlackBerry subscribers worldwide

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) has announced a 76.5 per cent increase in quarterly sales.

During the three months to 2 June, RIM shipped 2.4 million BlackBerrys, double that of a year ago, and added 1.2 million subscriber accounts for the handheld device, taking the total number to over nine million.

Revenue for the first quarter of the firm’s financial year was $1.08bn (£539m), up 16.3 per cent from $930.4m (£464m) in the previous quarter and up 76.5 per cent from $613.1m (£306m) in the same quarter of last year.

Some 76 per cent of sales were from devices, 16 per cent for services five per cent for software and three per cent for other revenue.

Net income was $223m (£111m), or $1.17 a share, up from $128.8m (£64m), or 67 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

‘We are starting fiscal 2008 with strong operating performance, including record revenue, earnings and subscriber results. After completing our first billion dollar quarter, we are no preparing to ship the 20 millionth BlackBerry handset this summer,’ said RIM chief executive Jim Balsillie.

The company forecast even better results for the next quarter ending 1 September, with revenue expected to be in the range of $1.3bn to $1.365bn (£648.5m to £680.9m).