The stock of Research in Motion plunged in extended trading after the BlackBerry maker reported quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street estimates and gave a disappointing forecast.

Its US-listed shares were down $14.28, or 15%, at $83.25.

RIM said it earned $495.5 million in the fiscal second quarter, which ended August. 30. That was a 72% rise from net income of $287.7 million, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue was $2.58 billion, up 15% from a year ago.

RIM sold 6.1 million BlackBerrys in the quarter, short of the 6.3 million expected by RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky.

However, the company expects revenue of $2.95 billion to $3.10 billion, better than the $2.94 billion analysts were forecasting.

RIM's release did not explain the shortfalls from analyst estimates, but executives were expected to elaborate on a conference call later in the evening.

Analyst Matt Thornton at Avian Securities said investors were discouraged by the company's projection of a third-quarter gross margin of 47%, significantly off from the 50% he had expected.

The reason is likely that the company is planning to launch no less than three new handsets in the quarter, Thornton said. The new flagship model, the Bold, was expected to hit the market this summer, but has been delayed and should reach US stores soon.

Source:AP News