RIM's stocks and subscriber numbers dip

BANGALORE, INDIA: It is a double whammy for Research In Motion. Its stock plunged 10.4 pc on Thursday and it saw the first decline in subscriber base in the latest quarter.

This has been mainly attibuted to the company's decision to change the pattern of its fees.
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said only subscribers who want enhanced security will pay fees under the new system.

A report in Associated Press stated that the global number of BlackBerry users dipped to 79 million.

However, the company's plans to launch new smartphones on January 30 gave it a sort of positive outlook. RIM's stock initially jumped more than 8 per cent in after-hours trading on that news, but then fell $1.48, or 10.4 per cent, to $12.65 after RIM said on a conference call that it won't generate as much revenue from telecommunications carriers once it releases the new BlackBerry 10 platform, the AP said.

On November 22, 2012, shares of RIM had surged 18 pc, the largest gain of the stock in over three years. This was due to National Bank of Canada analyst Kris Thompson's announcement that the new BB10 devices were expected to sell better than anticipated; along with raising the target stock price.