RIM in the black

Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry wireless handheld, said on Thursday that it swung to a profit in its most recent quarter, amid a 70 per cent rise in revenue.

The Ontario, Canada-based company said it earned $2.1m, or 3 cents per share, on revenue of $125.7m for the three months ended 30 August. That compares with a loss of $14.2m, or 18 cents per share, on revenue of $73.4m in the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding a $5.7m litigation provision for its ongoing patent case with NTP, RIM said its adjusted earnings were $7.8m, or 10 cents a share.

RIM's rise in sales was expected. RIM announced earlier this month that its revenue would be somewhere between $123m to $126m, ahead of earlier expectations.

The number of BlackBerry subscribers rose to 711,000 in the quarter, up 96,000 from the previous quarter, RIM said.

"RIM's technology and business plans remained on track during the second quarter as the global popularity of BlackBerry continued to grow," RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said in a statement.

The company said its investments and cash at the end of the quarter totalled $528m, up $18m from the end of the previous quarter.

Ina Fried writes for CNET News.com.