Blackberry's latest release flopped
Updated: 2013-09-29 13:37
Mobile phone maker Blackberry's second quarter earnings came as a pretty big disappointment. The company lost nearly one-billion dollars and a 45% drop in revenue.
Blackberry's latest figures surprised no-one - but still make for difficult reading. The company warned investors a week in advance, that losses for June through August could hit one billion dollars. $965 million is slightly under that mark - but no less troubling.
"It's an unfortunate situation, especially in Canada. We were all hoping that Blackberry would really move those new Blackberry 10 units and we would see them return to some of the prominence that they once enjoyed in the smartphone market." Brian Jackson, IT World Canada said.
Blackberry's own numbers lay bare how far behind the competition they now lag. In 3 months, Blackberry sold 3.7m phones around the world. Apple sold 9 million new iPhones in just 3 days. Worse still, Blackberry admits most of its sales are for older models, like the Curve and the Bold, not the supposed "game-changer" Blackberry 10 series.
"It is hard on people. It's hard on all of us. We're all part of the community, but we're still fighting. We're still focused and we're ready to start getting back on track where we're gonna start winning again." Andrew Macleod, Managing Director of Blackberry Canada said.
Wireless carriers, it seems, are not so confident. T-Mobile US is to scale-back the Blackberry inventory it carries, in-store. In a country with few globally recognized brands, such as Blackberry, it's a difficult pill to swallow.
Meanwhile, Fairfax Financial, the holding company hoping to buy Blackberry for $4.7 billion dollars, has yet to reveal its backers in the potential deal. While Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the government has no role in Canadian takeovers - it would look into a deal, involving a foreign investor, on grounds of security.
That's assuming a deal is ever achieved. As Fairfax embarks on its due diligence, skeptics claim the situation for Blackberry is worsening day-by-day - with unsold inventory and waning support from carriers.