BlackBerry posted a $148-million US net loss on revenue of $793 million for the quarter ended Nov. 30. The announcement came a day after BlackBerry CEO John Chen launched the Canadian company’s new Classic smartphone. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)
BlackBerry narrowed its net loss to $148-million US in its third quarter and did better with adjusted earnings than expected, as the company pushed ahead with a turnaround plan aimed at becoming profitable again.
The Waterloo, Ont.-based company’s net loss was equivalent to 28 cents per share, compared with a loss of $207 million or 39 cents per share in the same period a year ago.
On an adjusted basis, BlackBerry delivered a profit of one cent per share, beating expectations.
Analysts had anticipated a loss of five cents per adjusted share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
However, the company fell short of expectations on revenue, bringing in$793 million versus expectations of $931 million.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen has been working to turn around the company’s money-losing operations, and earlier this week launched the Classic, a throwback to its popular older smartphone models, but with an updated design and features.
Chen said Wednesday that the new phone is meant to appeal to loyal business customers.
“A lot of them pulled out their BlackBerry and told me, ‘Don’t mess around with this thing. Don’t mess around with the keyboard, don’t mess around with the trackpad,”‘ Chen said.
The company’s shares closed at $11.67 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday, up by $0.05 or 0.43 per cent.
