BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. boosted its profit sharply in the first quarter ended May 30 but only because its provision for tax fell to a third of the 2008 level.
After the market closed Thursday, the company said quarterly profit was $643 million US ($1.12 a diluted share), compared with $482.5 million (84 cents) in the same quarter last year.
Profit before taxes was up just $33.8 million.
But a huge drop in taxes, to a provision of $56.2 million in the most recent quarter, compared with $182.9 million in the comparable 2008 quarter, left the final profit figure much higher.
Revenue was $3.42 billion, up 53 per cent from $2.24 billion in the first quarter of 2008.
RIM stock, which fell 66 cents in Nasdaq trading to $76.55, dropped another $3.33 to $73.22 in after-hours trading.
Rim said it paid $41.2 million for a "provision for employee tax obligations for stock options." The company release did not explain the charge.
The company added about 3.8 million new BlackBerry subscribers, raising the total to 28.5 million at the end of the quarter.
"We are starting fiscal 2010 with strong financial performance and impressive market share gains, including a 55 per cent share of the U.S. smartphone market," co-CEO Jim Balsillie said in a news release.
