In a statement, the company said it expects fully diluted earnings per share for its first quarter -- which ends May 28 -- to be in the range of $1.30-$1.37. That is significantly lower than the $1.47-$1.55 RIM had suggested on March 24.
RIM blamed the shortfall on lower shipment volumes of BlackBerry smartphones, which are now expected to be “at the lower end” of the 13.5 to 14.5 million range the company had forecasted in March.
RIM also attributed the change to “a shift in the expected mix of devices shipped towards handsets with lower average selling price.” Translation: The company’s cheaper models are selling better than its more expensive ones. RIM added that expected shipments of its PlayBook in the quarter will be “in line with our previous expectations” and the company’s supply wasn’t affected by the Japan earthquake.