BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion the World’s Fastest-Growing Company
American business magazine Fortune has named BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion the world’s fastest-growing company, far outpacing rival Apple Inc. In its annual rankings, released yesterday, the respected U. S. publication said the maker of the BlackBerry topped a list of formidable competitors with average sales growth of 77% over the past three years and average earnings per share growth of 84% over the same time. The BlackBerry as well as Apple’s iPhone have become the sector’s top-performing devices.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple, which makes computers as well as the iconic iPod Touch music player and multimedia device, was 39th on the Fortune rankings, with three-years sales growth of 27% on average. Research in Motion was one of two Canadian companies that made the top 10 of Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list after the magazine opened the survey to businesses around the world for the first time. RIM has more than quadrupled its workforce in the last four years to about 12,000 people and seen its profits and revenues soar as the company has expanded sales of its BlackBerry devices beyond the corporate world to the highly competitive consumer market.
The move is a big part of RIM’s explosive growth, the magazine said. In its latest quarterly report, Research In Motion reported that its quarterly profit was $643 million, or $1.12 per share US, compared with $482.5 million US, or 84 cents per share a year earlier. Revenues rose 53 per cent from a year ago to $3.42 billion US. RIM has introduced a flurry of smartphones since the beginning of 2008 designed to appeal to consumers. That includs the BlackBerry Curve. RIM also owns more than 20% of the European market for smartphones, according to analyst estimates. Smartphones, which can surf the Web, quickly check email and download applications and content alongside traditional functions like placing phone calls, represent the fastest-growing corner of the global cellphone market. Smartphone sales have seen double-digit gains in 2009 even as overall handset sales have fallen in step with the recession. The smartphone market is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the next several years as more and more consumers adopt the next-generation devices.
The Fortune article about RIM compares co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis to Apple head Steve Jobs, and says the two Canadians are “more than holding their own” against Apple’s popular iPhone, with RIM retaining “a dominant position in the ultra-fast-growing smartphone business.”
RIM holds a 56 per cent share of the $12-billion American smartphone market, and is expected to see three-year average earnings-per-share growth of 84 per cent and revenue growth of 77 per cent. Fortune says this is largely on the strength of RIM’s foray into the consumer market.
By comparison, Apple takes 39th place in the magazine’s top-100 list.
However, Fortune warns that RIM’s competition is “getting increasingly stiff” and RIM will have to keep up with changing consumer demands.
Shares in RIM lost $1.98 to $78.31 in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, while Potash Corp. shares lost $4.53 to $100.97.
RESEARCH IN MOTION LTD.
Ticker RIM/TSX
Close $78.23, down $2.06
Volume 1,539,972
Avg. 6-month vol. 2,142,391
Rank in FP500 27
