Blackberry posts losses of $207m

BlackBerry has posted a loss of $207m for the second quarter just days after the embattled company launched a new phone.

The Canadian company said it lost two cents per share on an adjusted basis on revenue of $916m. The drop was smaller than its loss of $965m a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a loss of 15 cents on higher sales of $951m.

Earlier this week, BlackBerry’s chief executive John Chen unveiled a large-screen, square-shaped phone called the Passport to a Toronto audience.

No launch event was held in the US, where analysts say there is little demand or carrier interest.

BlackBerry has increasingly lost relevance as a smartphone company in the years since the 2007 launch of Apple’s touch-screen iPhone and the 2008 introduction of Google-powered Android phones.

Mr Chen said on a conference call with analysts that BlackBerry is “definitely in the first half” of an eight-quarter turnaround.

“We might not be at the lowest point, but we are near the bottoming out of this revenue,” Mr Chen said.

Mr Chen, who became CEO 10 months ago after a failed sale attempt, reiterated that he wants the company to return to profit by the end of the fiscal year in February 2015.

Since taking over, he has been putting more emphasis on BlackBerry’s mobile device management business, a collection of software that allows IT departments to manage different devices connected to their corporate networks.

He has also emphasised messaging service as well as Blackberry’s embedded QNX software systems, which are used in-vehicle infotainment systems and industrial machines.

Shares in BlackBerry fell 16 cents, or 1.6%, to $9.64 in pre-market trading shortly before the market opening.