Research In Motion Ltd. RIM-T

reported a sharp increase in quarterly profits, beating analyst estimates for its latest quarter.

The maker of the BlackBerry smart phone says it earned $628.4-million (U.S.), or $1.10 per diluted share, for the quarter ended Nov. 30.

That compared with a profit of $396.3-million, or 69 cents per diluted share, a year ago.

Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $3.92-billion, up from $2.78-billion in the same quarter last year.

According to Thomson Reuters the average analyst estimate had been for earnings of $1.04 per share and $3.78-billion in revenue.

The company said it added about 4.4 million net new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter to bring its total user base to approximately 36 million.