RIM misses meagre expectations, Nokia flounders too

BlackBerry maker RIM has seen its profits fall and its revenue miss its own limp forecast this quarter, forcing the firm to reduce its expectations.

The Canadian company reported quarterly earnings of $695m (£430.5m), 12 per cent lower than the previous quarter.

In response, the company said it plans to slash jobs and streamline operations.

It did not say how many jobs it expects to cut, but indicated that it intends to begin this reorganisation immediately.

RIM also warned that its newest models would not see a US launch until well into the peak "back-to-school" shopping season.

Geoff Blaber, analyst at CCS Insight, said to Reuters: "History tells us not to write RIM off. Over the last few years, people who've done so have been proven wrong, and when you look at the PlayBook and what they've delivered with QNX just over a year after the acquisition, they've made some phenomenal progress."

Meanwhile, Nokia is experiencing problems of its own as analysts are marking down the company's stock and speculating that it will make a loss for at least the next two quarters.

The firm's mobile business is expected to shrink by 20 per cent this year and then remain at about the same size for the next two years. Nokia has also just announced that it will close its UK online store on 30 June, following similar closures of the French, Spanish and Dutch online shops.

The firm said in an email to its partners: "This message is to inform you that Nokia is closing its affiliate programme [...] in keeping with a strategic business decision to close the Nokia UK online shop."

Both RIM and Nokia are facing stiff competition from the high-end smartphone and tablet markets – in particular from Google's Android operating system and Apple's iOS devices, the iPad and iPhone.