BlackBerry posts $4.4B loss?
Chris U. says it's not that bad, with actual losses at $400M. Ok not great but why are all the news outlets telling everyone it is a $4.4B loss even though they still have $3B cash? People are claiming BlackBerry is finally dead. I'm absolutely sure now that people only read headlines.
BlackBerry reports staggering loss; signs deal with Apple supplier Foxconn
WATERLOO�BlackBerry lost a whopping US$4.4-billion in the third quarter as it reported that its newest smartphones, once touted as the way it would reclaim a competitive position, are hardly selling at all.
The Waterloo-based company said more than 74 per cent of the 4.3 million BlackBerry devices that landed in users� hands during the quarter were its older BlackBerry 7 models, not the new BlackBerry 10 devices.
Those poor sales weighed on BlackBerry�s revenue, which was $1.2 billion, down 56 per cent from a year ago when it didn�t have new smartphone models on the market.
It also was $400 million lower than analyst estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.
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BlackBerry's Q3 results were far below expectations, plunging 56 per cent over the same quarter last year.zoom
BlackBerry, which is in the midst of significant changes to how it operates, also recorded a number of items related to its restructuring efforts, and the company managed to increase its cash holdings to $3.2 billion at the end of November.
Adjusted losses from continuing operations, which filter out various expenses like restructuring costs, were $354 million, or 67 cents per share � 23 cents below analyst estimates.
The results are Blackberry�s first under new chairman and interim chief executive John Chen.
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Chen has said the company �is very much alive� but is putting more emphasis on Blackberry�s software business than its failed hardware business.
Chen outlined some of his plans Friday in an unusually candid conference call with analysts, where he poked fun at lawyers while acknowledging he has his work cut out for him.
�We admit the fact that in the past maybe we haven�t really lined ourself up as we probably should have done,� he said.
�That has affected our results (and) the market has spoken. We listened and we�re going to listen even more as we go forward.�
In pre-market trade, BlackBerry�s battered initially fell sharply but they rallied after North American markets opened. BlackBerry rose 14 cents to C$6.81 on the Toronto Stock Exchange shortly after it opened while on Nasdaq, where most of BlackBerry stock trades, the shares were down two cents at US$6.23.
The details come as BlackBerry also announced plans to shift much of it hardware development to Chinese electronics maker Foxconn under a five-year agreement will begin with manufacturing a smartphone for Indonesia early next year.
�With the operational and organizational changes we have announced, BlackBerry has established a clear roadmap that will allow it to target a return to improved financial performance in the coming year,� Chen said in a statement.
He said parts of BlackBerry�s business, including its enterprise services for organizations and its messaging products, are in good shape. The most immediate challenge, he added, is to improve its devices operations.
�We have accomplished a lot in the past 45 days but still have significant work ahead of us as we target improved financial performance next year,� Chen said.
�However, the company is financially strong, has a broad and trusted product portfolio to work with, a talented employee base and a new leadership team dedicated to implementing our new roadmap.�
Chen says the partnership with Foxconn demonstrates BlackBerry�s commitment to making devices over the long term.
There has been speculation that BlackBerry could get out of the device business in light of intense competition from Apple, Samsung and other smartphone makers.
For many people, Foxconn is best known as one of Apple�s main suppliers.
�BlackBerry is an iconic brand with great technology and a loyal international fan base,� said Terry Gou, Foxconn�s founder and chairman.
�We are pleased to be working with BlackBerry as it positions itself for future growth and we look forward to a successful strategic partnership in which Foxconn will jointly develop and manufacture new BlackBerry devices in both Indonesia and Mexico for new and existing markets.�
It�s a rapid decline for BlackBerry, which posted a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion in September and said it would slash more than one-third of its global workforce as it focuses on business and high-end professional markets.
In September the Waterloo-based company said it would report sales of about $1.6 billion (U.S.) for the fiscal second quarter ended Aug. 31 � well below the forecast for $3.06 billion. Half of that revenue was derived from services.
The company said it would cut 4,500 jobs throughout its global operations, bringing its workforce to about 7,000, and expects to post a net operating loss of between $950 million and $995 million (U.S.) for the quarter.
Last month, Star financial columnist David Olive wrote: �The flaming wreck that appears to be is no such thing.�
The company can still boast tens of millions of customers worldwide. It has an enviable array of assets. These include trove of patents; a QNX unit rich in software that enables machines to talk with each other; a clean balance sheet; and a long-popular BlackBerry Messenger service (BBM) signed up a staggering 10 million clients when its latest BBM app was released.
�That�s 500,000 requests per hour, just among users of Apple Inc. and Android rivals to the BlackBerry smartphone.�
He warned, however, that BlackBerry needs to be sold, �having long passed the point of a possible comeback against the upstart rivals that have so thoroughly outclassed it.�
Olive was writing just after a proposed sale fell through.
More: BlackBerry abandons sale
With files from thestar.com
The Star - BlackBerry reports staggering loss; signs deal with Apple supplier Foxconn
There are more:
BlackBerry shares volatile; Red Hat gains - Movers & Shakers - MarketWatch
BlackBerry posts $4.4B loss in 3rd quarter - Business - CBC News
So what's up with this?