Research In Motion Limited (RIMM)
Fiscal Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
December 18, 2008 5:00 p.m. ET

Executives

Edel Ebbs - Vice President, Investor Relations
James L. Balsillie - Co-Chief Executive Officer, Director
Brian Bidulka - Chief Accounting Officer

Analysts

Maynard Um – UBS Securities
Gus Papageorgiou - Scotia Capital
Rob Sanderson - American Technology Research
Chris Umiastowski - TD Newcrest
James Faucette - Pacific Crest Securities
Jeff Kvaal - Barclays Capital
Scott Coleman - Morgan Stanley

Presentation

Operator

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Research In Motion third quarter fiscal 2009 results conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. Instructions will be provided at that time for the queue up for questions. If any one has any difficulty hearing the conference, please press “*” followed by “0” for operator assistance at any time. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded on Thursday, December 18, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

I will now turn the conference over to Ms. Edel Ebbs, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Edel Ebbs

Thank you. Welcome to RIM''s fiscal 2009 third quarter results conference call. With me on the call today is Jim Balsillie, RIM''s Co-CEO, and Brian Bidulka, RIM''s Chief Accounting Officer.

After I read the required forward-looking statements disclaimer, Jim will provide a business and strategic update. Brian will then review third quarter results, and I will discuss our outlook for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. We will then open the call up for questions.

I would like to note that this call is available to the general public via call-in number and webcast. A replay of the webcast will also be available on the www.rim.com website. We plan to wrap up the call before 6:00 p.m. Eastern this evening.

Some of the statements we will be making today constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. These include statements about our expectations and estimates with respect to revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, CapEx, depreciation and amortization, investment income, earnings, earnings per share, channel inventory, seasonality, ASPs and foreign exchange related matters for Q4 and beyond, our expectations regarding RIM''s near and long-term tax rates, as well as the timing and effect of proposed changes to Canadian tax laws, our estimates of the number of BlackBerry shipments, subscriber accounts, subscriber account additions, replacement device sales, prepaid plans and other non-financial estimates, our product development initiatives and timing, developments relating to our carrier partners, new and expanding markets for our products, and other statements regarding our plans and objectives.

We will indicate forward-looking statements by using words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “forecast,” “intend,” “believe,” “continue” and similar expressions. All forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties in assumptions we''ve made.

Many factors could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements including risks related to the restatement of our previously filed financial statements as a result of our internal review of historical stock option granting practices and regulatory investigations or litigation regarding those matters, risks relating to intellectual property, our ability to enhance our current products and develop and bring to market new products and services in a timely manner, our reliance on carrier partners, the efficient and uninterrupted operation of RIM''s network operation centers, the occurrence or perception of a breach of RIM''s security measures, our reliance on suppliers and third-party manufacturers, risks relating to possible product defects and product liability, risks associated with our expanding foreign operations, restrictions on import and/or use of RIM''s products in certain countries due to encryption of our products, our ability to effectively manage our growth, general economic conditions, risks relating to competition, foreign exchange risks, and other factors set forth in the Risk Factors and MD&A sections in RIM''s filings with the SEC and Canadian securities regulators.

We base our forward-looking statements on information currently available to us and we do not assume any obligation to update them except as required by law.

I will now turn the call over to Jim.

James L. Balsillie

Thank you Edel. We''re pleased to report third quarter revenues of $2.78 billion, up 66% from the prior year, and adjusted earnings per share of $0.86, up from $0.65 per share in the same quarter last year.