BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd (RIM) believes it will successfully resolve disputes with India, the United Arab Emirates and other countries over data security and avert their threats to ban services, the company’s co-CEO said on Thursday.
Jim Balsillie’s remarks came as the company said its second-quarter net income jumped 68 percent as it added new BlackBerry subscribers and beat analysts’ expectations at a time many have started to write the company off.
Balsillie said RIM is continuing discussions with governments and service providers, and “they believe we have made good progress in those discussions.”
Countries such as India and the United Arab Emirates complained that BlackBerry e-mail encryption posed a national security risk.
“I’m optimistic that a positive and constructive outcome can be achieved,” he added during a conference call with analysts to discuss the latest financial results.
BlackBerry second-quarter shipments climbed 45 percent to 12.1 million from a year ago. That comes amid concerns that RIM is losing ground to Apple Inc’s iPhone and devices using Google Inc’s Android software.
“International markets continue to be a strong driver of growth,” Balsillie said.
He said about 52 percent of revenue came from outside the US and more than 45 percent of BlackBerry subscribers are outside North America.
The company posted net income of US$796.7 million, or US$1.46 per share, in the three months ended on Aug. 28. That’s up from US$475.6 million, or US$0.83 per share, a year earlier.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of US$1.35 per share, on average. Revenue rose 31 percent to US$4.62 billion, better than the US$4.47 billion expected by analysts.
For the quarter ending in November, the company projected earnings of US$1.62 to US$1.70 per share on revenue of US$5.3 billion to US$5.55 billion. Analysts were looking for US$1.39 per share and revenue of US$4.83 billion.
RIM launched the BlackBerry Torch last month, with a touch screen and a slide-out keyboard. It has an improved operating system and a new Web browser, but analysts say RIM is playing catch-up rather than breaking new ground.
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