April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry e-mail phone, rose 5.9 percent in Nasdaq trading after forecasts beat analysts' estimates, signaling sales may withstand an economic slump and competition from Apple Inc.

First-quarter sales will double to as much as $2.3 billion, the company predicted yesterday. That beat the $2.01 billion average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Profit will climb to as much as 86 cents a share, topping the 75-cent projection.

Companies are still buying BlackBerrys, even as a slowing economy forces them to cut other expenses, co-Chief Executive Officer James Balsillie said yesterday on a conference call. Research In Motion also is reaching out to consumers with phones that play video and surf the Web, fending off competition from Nokia Oyj and Apple's iPhone.

``Consumers and businesses are going to hang on to their BlackBerrys ahead of a number of other items,'' David Garrity, director of research at Dinosaur Securities Inc. in New York, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``The BlackBerry, rather than being an optional nice-to-have business equipment item, has really become more of a must-have.''

Analysts at UBS AG and Bear Stearns Cos. raised their estimates on the stock price after the report. Research In Motion rose $6.79 to $122.58 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the biggest gain since March 24.

`Haven't Seen It'

Some investors were concerned about the company's growth prospects before yesterday's report, as the cooling economy prompts U.S. companies to curb spending, said Garrity, who values the shares at $160. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday that a decline in gross domestic product is possible, partly because of slumps in home building and consumer spending.

``We haven't seen it,'' Balsillie said on the conference call, referring to the slowdown. ``If we do see it, we'll let you know.''

Fourth-quarter net income advanced to $412.5 million, or 72 cents a share, from $187.4 million, or 33 cents, a year earlier, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said. Sales doubled to $1.88 billion in the period ended March 1.

The company forecast 2.2 million new subscribers for this quarter. Analysts on average predicted 2.15 million for the period, according to a March 30 report from Goldman, Sachs & Co. analyst Thomas Lee in New York.

Soccer Moms

``The BlackBerry has moved from being an enterprise tool to being something that soccer moms are using,'' said Pablo Perez- Fernandez, an analyst with Global Crown Capital, in an interview with Bloomberg Radio from Las Vegas. ``The company has probably one of the best management teams in technology. Period.''

The company attracted more consumers with discounts on music-player-equipped phones such as the Curve and the Pearl, both of which sold for $99 with an AT&T Inc. contract over the holidays. Apple's iPhone, a handset that incorporates the features of its best-selling iPod media player, starts at $399 in the U.S.

The BlackBerry accounted for 41 percent of U.S. shipments for e-mail phones in the calendar fourth quarter, according to Reading, England-based research firm Canalys. Apple's iPhone had 28 percent, while Palm Inc., maker of the Treo, had 9 percent.

More than half of new BlackBerry customers last quarter were consumers and small-business owners, Balsillie said. Those users represent about 38 percent of all subscribers, he said.

The company is benefiting as carriers reduce prices for BlackBerry service, with some now charging less than $20 a month, he said. Prepaid BlackBerry service plans may boost growth in emerging markets, Balsillie said.

About two-thirds of Research In Motion's customers are in North America. The company has expanded beyond that base in the past year by selling the BlackBerry in China, the world's biggest mobile-phone market, and countries such as Russia and Ukraine.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ville Heiskanen in New York at vheiskanen@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 3, 2008 16:13 EDT