Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Mobile

    BlackBerry, Still ‘Financially Strong,’ Posts $965 Million Loss

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    September 27, 2013
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      BlackBerry canceled its Sept. 27 earnings call, but still released its dismal fiscal 2014 second-quarter fiscal earnings announcement. The company lost $965 million during the three months that ended Aug. 31 and brought in revenue of $1.6 billion—a free fall of 49 percent from the quarter before and 45 percent from a year ago.

      The company sold just 3.7 million BlackBerry smartphones during the quarter, most of them older devices running BlackBerry 7, it said in a statement.

      For a sense of scale, Apple began selling two new iPhones Sept. 20, and over three days sold 9 million smartphones.

      “We are very disappointed with our operational and financial results this quarter and have announced a series of major changes to address the competitive hardware environment and our cost structure,” CEO Thorsten Heins said in a statement.

      BlackBerry, after announcing in August that it was open to “strategic alternatives,” including being purchased, signed a letter of intent to sell the company to Fairfax Financial Holdings, its largest shareholder, for $4.7 billion.

      BlackBerry is allowed to shop for and accept an alternative option before a due diligence period ends Nov. 4. The New York Times has reported that Fairfax can walk away from the deal without penalty, but BlackBerry will have to pay $157 million to back out.

      Other changes at BlackBerry have included employee layoffs. By the end of the year, it’s been said the company could let go of up to 40 percent of its staff.

      A BlackBerry spokesperson said the layoffs were part of a “transformation plan,” and that such “organizational moves will continue to occur to ensure we have the right people in the right roles to drive new opportunities.”

      Throughout BlackBerry’s downturn, Heins has continued to insist that the company is still financially stable, given its cash reserves and lack of debt.

      The company now has a cash and investments balance of $2.6 billion, it reported Sept. 27, and spent $136 million in cash during the quarter.

      “We understand how some of the activities we are going through create uncertainty, but we remain a financially strong company,” Heins said in the statement.

      He added that BlackBerry remains “focused on targeted markets and [is] committed to completing our transition quickly in order to establish a more focused and efficient company.”

      On Sept. 20, offering preliminary results for the quarter, Heins announced in a statement that BlackBerry would stop marketing to consumers and focus on enterprises and professional users—”the customers that helped build BlackBerry into the leading brand today for enterprise security, manageability and reliability.”

      While BlackBerry 10 handsets weren’t a success during the second quarter, BlackBerry said that its BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES 10) offering was.

      “While our company goes through the necessary changes to create the best business model for our hardware business, we continue to see confidence from our customers through the increasing penetration of BES 10,” said Heins. “We now have more than 25,000 commercial and test servers installed to date, up from 19,000 in July 2013.”

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×