RIM CEO cleans house as BlackBerry maker posts loss

ORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion on Thursday reported a quarterly loss as BlackBerry shipments slumped again and said former co-CEO Jim Balsillie stepped down as director, part of a shake-up of the Fake Franck Muller Watches for sale company's senior ranks by its new chief executive.
RIM's shares dropped as much as 9 percent after the company said it would no longer issue financial forecasts and is reviewing "strategic opportunities" such as partnerships and joint ventures licensing, and other ways to leverage its assets.Chief Executive Thorsten Heins, who took from Balsillie and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis in January, would not rule out a sale of the company, though he said the company was still focusing on a turnaround."I did my own reality check on where the entire company really is. Having had the benefit of going through this process from the vantage point of C Franck Muller Fake Watches EO, it is now very clear to me that substantial change is what RIM needs," he said in a conference call with analysts.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^For RIM graphic: link.reuters.com/keb47s^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^The Waterloo, Ontario-based company shipped 11.1 million BlackBerry smartphones in the fourth quarter ended March 3, down 21 percent from the third quarter, but slightly ahead of analysts' expectations.Even so it was the first quarterly decline in the period covering Christmas since 2006 and only the second time RIM has reported the metric dropping for that crucial period.RIM sold more than 500,000 PlayBooks in the fourth quarter, a number inflated by deep discounts offered to boost sales of the product.The decline in BlackBerry shipments suggests that RIM, at best, is treading water until it releases its next-generation of BlackBerry smartphones late this year. Most analysts consider that a do-or-die launch for the company as it falls further behind Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad and devices powered by Google's Android."PAYING THE PRICE"The company is now paying the price for failing to heed calls to move quickly to license its operating system and consider other strategies to compete with industry titan Apple, said Peter Misek, managing director of Jefferies Writing by Cameron French; Editing by Frank McGurty) Tech Media iPad Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News