Research in Motion Posts Big Quarter

Research in Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry personal communications device, on Thursday posted fiscal second-quarter profit and sales that beat analysts’ estimates, driving its shares to a record high in after-hours trading.

The company also said results in the current quarter would surpass expectations.

Research in Motion’s shares rocketed to $103.30 in after-hours activity. They had lost 14 cents to $86.06 in regular trading, before results were announced.

Investors seemed untroubled by news that the company would restate previously reported earnings after finding that some stock option grants to employees had been backdated.

Co-Chief Executive James Balsillie said the company signed up 705,000 new customers in the quarter ended Sept. 2, and he predicted 800,000 more this quarter. Subscribers now total 6.2 million.

The Waterloo, Canada-based company is adding new products, such as the Pearl handset with a camera and music player, to battle Motorola Inc. and Nokia. Both have introduced handsets that include phones, e-mail service and Internet access.

Research in Motion’s second-quarter net income jumped 27% to $140.8 million, or 74 cents a share, from $111.1 million, or 56 cents, a year earlier. Sales surged 34% to $658.5 million. (The results are in U.S. dollars.)

The company’s gains have come as another rival, Palm Inc., maker of the Treo handset, struggles. Last week Palm reported lower profit and the smallest sales gain in three years.

Research in Motion said it expected the options restatement to cut reported net income since 1997 by $25 million to $45 million, an amount that Peter Misek, an analyst at Canaccord Adams Inc., called “largely immaterial.”