That the BlackBerry-maker, Research In Motion (RIM), has been able to fend off some fierce competition - from the Apple iPhone and an increasing number of Android-based handsets - is evident from the fact that the company reported record shipments of its BlackBerry smartphones in its fiscal third quarter.

According to the statistics forwarded by the Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM, the record 14.2 million shipments of the BlackBerry handsets during the quarter, which ended on November 27, marked a 40 percent year-on-year increase for the company.

In its fiscal fourth quarter, RIM is projecting the BlackBerry shipments to be between 14.5 million and 15 million units.

Further reporting that its revenue leaped by 40 percent year-on-year to $5.49 billon, RIM also disclosed that its fiscal third-quarter profit stood at $911.1 million, or $1.74 a share; which was notably more than the same-quarter earlier year figures of $628.4 million, or $1.10 a share.

With the gross margin increasing from 42.7 percent to 43.6 percent, RIM has also forecast that its fourth-quarter earnings will be in the range of $1.74 to $1.80 per share, with the revenue being between $5.5 billion and $5.7 billion.

Noting that BlackBerry is the top-selling handset in several Latin American and European markets, including the UK where the number of prepaid smartphone subscribers is surging, RIM’s co-CEO Jim Balsillie said on a Thursday conference call: “RIM is taking advantage of these dynamics to leverage our unique position and grow the business to record levels.”