Blackberry on the Slide? ; RIM profits halved in second quarter of this year.

Research in Motion (RIM); the makers of Blackberry products, have seen their second-quarter profits fall sharply. It is thought that this has happened due to low demand for their older models, in addition to the underwhelming performance of the new Blackberry PlayBook tablets.

Net profit has fallen from $797m in the three months up until the end of august last year to $329m this year. This has come amidst news that the company is to cut 11% of its workforce in cost saving measures, with 2000 people set to lose their jobs as a result. Further compounding the RIM's misery was news that their shares fell by more than 10% in after-hours trading in New York in wake of the announcement, with investors seemingly lacking confidence in the long term health of the Blackberry brand.

This recent fall in profits can be partly explained by the fact that profits for their new Blackberry smartphones were not fully taken into account in these figures, as these products were only released late in the quarter. Still, it is an alarming turn of fortunes, and something RIM will surely seek to resolve in the coming months.

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By Joe Sheldon