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Corporate Profile Shareholder Information Research In Motion (RIM) is a leading designer, manufacturer Annual Meeting of Shareholders Tuesday, July 20, 1999 at 6:30 p.m. and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the mobile at the Canadian Clay and Glass Museum, 25 Caroline Street North, communications market. Through development and integration of Waterloo, Ontario. hardware, software and services, RIM provides solutions for seamless Shareholder Inquiries access to time-sensitive information including email, messaging, Investor Relations Research In Motion Limited Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables 295 Phillip Street Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3W8 a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers in North T (519) 888-7465 F (519) 888-6906 America and around the world to enhance their products and services Email: [email protected] with wireless connectivity. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products Transfer Agent includes the RIM Inter@ctive™ Pager product line, the BlackBerry™ The Trust Company of the Bank of Montreal wireless email solution, wireless personal computer card adapters, 129 St-Jacques Street West, Level B Montreal, QC, H2Y 1L6 embedded radio-modems and software development tools. A growth T (800) 332 0095 company, founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM is listed F (514) 877-9676 on The NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and The Toronto Auditors Ernst and Young LLP Stock Exchange (TSE: RIM). Email: [email protected]. Chartered Accountants 515 Riverbend Drive Web site address: www.rim.net. P.O. 9458 Station C Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 4W9 Research In Motion, RIM, the RIM logo, Inter@ctive, Inter@ctive Pager, Zeifman and Company BlackBerry, the BlackBerry logo and “Always on, Always Connected” are Chartered Accountants trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. Research In Motion and RIM are 201 Bridgeland Avenue registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other brands, products Toronto, Ontario, M6A 1Y7 and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Stock Exchange Listings Nasdaq National Market Forward-looking statements in this annual report are made pursuant to the Symbol: RIMM “safe harbour” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation The Toronto Stock Exchange Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking Symbol: RIM statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks relating to possible product defects and product liability, risks related to Corporate Office international operations, risks related to the year 2000 issue, continued Research In Motion Limited acceptance of RIM’s products, increased levels of competition, technological 295 Phillip Street changes, dependence on intellectual property rights and other risks detailed Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3W8 from time to time in RIM’s periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Corporate Web Site www.rim.net Financial Highlights (in thousands of Canadian dollars, except per share amounts) Year ended February 28, 1999 1998* Income Statement Data Revenue $ 70,483 $ 31,118 Gross Profit $ 27,654 $ 9,674 Net Income $ 9,541 $ 540 Earnings Per Share (basic and fully diluted) $ 0.15 $ 0.01 Operating Data (Percentage of revenue) Gross Margin 39% 31% Gross Research and Development 17% 21% Selling, Marketing and Administration 14% 13% Balance Sheet Data Total Assets $ 175,527 $ 153,347 Shareholders’ Equity $ 160,054 $ 150,055 * In fiscal 1999, RIM ceased to include government assistance and Investment Tax Credits in revenue. These items are now netted against gross R&D expenses. Comparative historical figures in this annual report have been reclassified to conform to current year’s presentation. Revenue Net Income (CDN $ million) (CDN $ million) $70 $10 5 . 0 5 7 . 60 9 8 50 6 40 30 1 . 4 1 3 20 8 2 . 9 4 10 . 7 6 . 6 5 . 0 . 0 4 . 0 0 0 3 . 0 0 0 95* 96* 97* 98* 99 95 96 97 98 99 1 Letter to Shareholders Fellow Shareholders, Financially, we more than doubled revenues to $70.5 million and reported net earnings of $9.5 million or $0.15 per share. The main catalyst Fiscal 1999 was an excellent for this growth was the launch of the Inter@ctive™ Pager 950 with year for Research In Motion. BellSouth and Cantel as well as steady sales growth with our OEM Breakthrough achievements radio modem customers. In addition to the launch of the Inter@ctive Pager 950, RIM introduced included financial success, an integrated device/service offering called BlackBerry™ in January 1999. new product introductions, BlackBerry is explained in more detail on page 12, but in brief, its core feature is wearable wireless email. The BlackBerry Handheld allows a user increases in research and to wirelessly synchronize email that is sent to their desktop computer and development, marketing and also performs all calendar, organizer and task list functions that are production resources and included in personal organizers. RIM not only provides the handheld devices for BlackBerry, but is a single source to the end user for software broader industry awareness of support and monthly airtime. Management believes that BlackBerry will wearable two-way messaging. change the way people manage their email and personal information. BlackBerry will be a significant part of RIM’s business plan going forward. RIM continued its focus on research and development by almost doubling spending to $11.8 million and by hiring 38 highly qualified new technical personnel. A further $3.9 million was spent on providing new equipment and tools for the R&D team. David Yach joined RIM’s R&D team as Vice President, Software. David was formerly the Chief Software Architect for Sybase and is helping solidify RIM’s increasing software efforts. 2 Mike Lazaridis Marketing and broadening awareness of RIM’s products was a key President and Co-Chief strategy outlined in last year’s annual report. The successful launches Executive Officer of both the Inter@ctive Pager 950 and BlackBerry were made possible Jim Balsillie by the efforts of our marketing and sales team. RIM products were also Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer prominently featured in promotional activities by partners, including BellSouth and Fidelity which produced U.S. nationwide advertising campaigns. As well, broader media awareness of RIM’s products was evidenced by numerous positive product reviews and “best of class” awards from leading magazines and industry analysts. RIM’s production team has proven its ability to scale volumes without compromising quality. The addition of new equipment to the surface mount lines, the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to manage inventory needs and production planning, as well as working with the product design teams to ensure design efficiencies have all contributed to this success. RIM is currently meeting demand with one shift running in the plant. The production team is able Employee Skill Sets to scale capacity by adding shifts or additional equipment on short notice, the result of which is expected to increase total capacity to over 1 million 13% units per year. We are also exploring longer-term plans to ensure RIM can 14% continue to meet expected increased market demand for its products. 41% 32% From an industry perspective, wireless messaging and two-way paging have become mainstream topics of awareness and discussion. Conferences are now held on these topics alone. The ability of RIM’s devices to R&D Manufacturing provide access to email has contributed to this awareness. Industry Sales/Marketing terms such as “Information Appliances” and “Internet Appliances” are Finance/Administration commonly used to refer to products that incorporate wearability with wireless data communications. People are beginning to understand the utility of RIM’s products because they are using them in everyday life. Gross Research To continue to build on the successes of fiscal 1999, there are two and Development critical areas of focus over the upcoming year: catalyzing demand for (CDN $ million) wireless messaging and the solid execution of RIM’s business plan. 12 8 . 1 10 1 CATALYZING DEMAND FOR WIRELESS MESSAGING Product reviews, awards, and ongoing beta trials (where products are 8 tested by customers) have all given indications that RIM’s products meet the criteria necessary for success. However, the true barometer of success 6 5 . 6 is the extent to which people are willing to actually buy and use these 4 5 products. RIM is devoting significant resources to marketing, selling and . 4 developing and supporting distribution channels for its products. 2 5 . 2 5 . 1 0 95 96 97 98 99 3 Letter to Shareholders (continued) One of the most significant distribution partners for RIM is BellSouth Wireless Data. Following its launch of Inter@ctive Paging in September 1998, BellSouth has been successful in increasing its subscriber base of two-way paging customers. BellSouth recently announced a partnership with PageNet, the largest paging company in the world, through which PageNet will offer its ten million customers the availability of two-way paging using the BellSouth network and RIM’s Inter@ctive Pager 950. RIM will continue to support BellSouth and PageNet’s direct and indirect sales channels through training, lead generation and co-op marketing. RIM will also focus on facilitating and supporting third party development on the Inter@ctive Pager platform. By making it easy and attractive to develop applications for the Inter@ctive Pager 950, RIM can effectively reach a much broader target market for its products. These platform partners and developers are profiled in more detail on page 9. American Mobile Satellite Corp. (AMSC), another nationwide wireless data network provider in the U.S., has launched a two-way messaging service called eLink™ based on RIM’s Inter@ctive Pager 850 platform.