Research In Motion (RIMM) this afternoon reported mixed results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended February 27, with revenues missing guidance but gross margin exceeding expectations. Disappointing revenues, combined with lower-than-expected shipments and ASPs below Street forecasts, together are pressuring RIMM’s share price.

RIMM posted revenue for the quarter of $4.08 billion, up 18% from a year ago and 4% above Q3, but below the Street at $4.31 billion, and shy of guidance of $4.2 billion to $4.4 billion. EPS was $1.27, a penny below the Street consensus, but within the guidance range of $1.23 to $1.31. Gross margin was 45.7%, up from 42.7% in Q3, and ahead of the 43.5% level RIMM had projected.

For FY Q1, the company sees revenue of $4.25 billion to $4.45 billion; the Street has been projecting $4.33 million. RIMM sees Q1 gross margin of 44.5%; it expects profits of $1.31 to $1.38 a share, ahead of the Street at $1.22.

RIMM said it added 4.9 billion net new BlackBerry subs in the quarter, ahead of its forecast of 4.4 million to 4.7 million; the company finished the quarter with over 41 million total subs.  For Q1, the company expects to add another 4.9 million to 5.2 million subscribers.

The company said it shipped about 10.5 million devices in the quarter, and about 37 million for the year.

RIMM had 2.87 billion in cash at quarter end, up from $2.41 billion one quarter earlier.

Disappointed investors are selling off the shares: in late trading, RIMM is down $5.05, or 6.8%, to $68.92.

Comment: While I’m waiting for the conference call to start, let’s do a little back-of-the-envelope math. In the quarter, the company said it generated 80% of revenue from devices, which implies $3.264 billion. The company sold 10.5 million devices, which implies revenue per device of $310.86. In Q3, the company generated 82% of its $3.92 billion in total revenue from devices, which comes to $3.214 billion; in that quarter, they sold 10.1 million devices, which implies an ASP of $318.25. Ergo, device prices fell about 2.3% sequentially. The lower ASP helps explain the revenue miss, but not the margin beat. Standby for the call.

Comment 2: IT it clear from listening to the call that the results have reinforced the Street’s concern that most of the company’s growth is coming from lower-margin markets outside North America; expect that to be the focus of some of tomorrow’s Street commentary.

Update: I’m listening to the conference call, and will bullet key points below:

• CO-CEO Jim Balsillie noted that unit shipments were slightly lower than expected, due to an inventory adjustment at a customer, and lower than expected ASP duie to product mix.
  
• Gross margin was higher than expected, also due to product mix.
• The company expects shipments of 11.2 million to 11.8 million in the fiscal first quarter.
• RIMM expects ASP of $305 to $310 in the current quarter.
• The company expects Q2 ASP similar to Q1, and then sees ASPs rising in subsequent quarters.
• Gross margin is expected to moderate in the second half of the year into the low 40s.
• About 48% of business in the latest quarter was outside North America, and is now more than 38% of the installed base.

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily