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As it continues its downward spiral, Research in Motion has parted ways with two top execs, as well as board member and ex-CEO Jim Balsillie.
On Thursday, the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone announced that in the fourth quarter revenue topped out at $4.2 billion, a 19 percent drop from the previous quarter. Such a drop is particularly large when you consider that the fourth quarter spans the holiday buying season. Revenues were down a whopping 25 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011.
During a conference call with analysts and reporters, the company also announced that Jim Balsillie -- who stepped down as co-CEO in January -- will now retire from his post as a director on the board as well. David Yach, the company's chief technology officer, will also depart after 13 years with the company, and Jim Rowan will step down from his job as chief operating officer.
"We have seen a significant slowdown in our enterprise business," RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said during the call, citing the "bring your own device to work" movement as the primary cause of the drop. Increasingly, employees are bringing iPhone and Android devices into the workplace, and this is making it more difficult for RIM to sell directly to businesses, its traditional stronghold.
In January, Apple posted record quarterly revenues of $46.33 billion after selling 37.04 million iPhones, a 128 percent increase over the previous year.
RIM is so flustered, it can't even seem to report its revenue figures properly. During today's call, as chief financial officer Brian Bidulka announced the latest figures, he paused and hissed: "These aren't the right numbers." He then said he'd get back to investors and the press with the proper information.
As chief technology officer, David Yach oversaw the development of RIM's software such as the new BlackBerry Enterprise Server and the operating systems on the company's smartphones. As COO, Rowan was responsible for manufacturing and the company's wireless infrastructure.
On the conference call, Heins said that he and his team would conduct an extensive review of the company's hierarchy and operational structure. "We have identified a level of complexity that is not conducive to our business," Heins said.
He also said that RIM would review the market opportunities that still lie ahead for the company. "It is difficult to say what kinds of opportunities will surface during this review process."
