RIM profits surge, but sales missed expectations

BlackBerry-maker RIM reported a sharp spike in net income for its Q4 thanks to strong sales of consumer-oriented handsets like its Pearl. Despite the news, shares of RIM fell because the company just missed analysts' expectations for sales figures and because RIM did not lift its profit forecast for the quarters ahead. Net income came in at $187.9 million, up from $18.4 million a year earlier, which was considerably lower because it paid $162.5 million of its $612.5 million settlement with NTP. RIM also added 1.02 million subscriber accounts during Q4, which boosted its total base to 8 million users.

For more on RIM's profit surge:
- see this report in the WSJ (sub. req.)