RIM reveals Q1 2011 earnings and PlayBook performance numbers

Research In Motion has finally released its fiscal Q1 earnings today, including official PlayBook performance numbers. The results are unfortunately not what the company had expected.

According to the official earnings report [PDF], the company experienced a net income of $695 million for Q2 2011, which is more than 10 percent lower than its Q2 2010 earnings and 34 percent lower than its first quarter of 2011. As a result, RIM stock flopped 15.11 percent to $29.93 a share, according to DailyTech.

A closer look at its earnings report reveals just 500,000 PlayBook units have been shipped so far. Actual sales numbers are likely to be much lower, while its own BlackBerry mobile devices haven’t performed much better either. Although PlayBook sales may be better than the Motorola Xoom, the tough initial reviews and tight competition with iOS and Android devices  may have lead to the lower than expected sales of the RIM tablet.

Regardless of the sales numbers, RIM may still be planning to expand its PlayBook tablet into larger sizes. A 4G variant, however, appears unlikely for now. Meanwhile, the company will be laying off an unspecified number of its employees in hopes for a better Q2 2012 earnings performance.

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