BlackBerry will consider exiting its handset business if it remains unprofitable as the company looks to expand its corporate reach with investments, acquisitions and partnerships.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen said in an interview: “If I cannot make money on handsets, I will not be in the handset business. The time frame for such a decision was short.”
He would not be more specific.
Chen, who took the helm of the struggling smartphone company in November, said BlackBerry was also looking to invest in or team up with other companies in regulated industries such as healthcare, and financial and legal services, all of which require highly secure communications.
Reuters reported that the chief executive said small acquisitions to strengthen BlackBerry’s network security offerings were also possible.
Also read: BlackBerry Q4 revenue dips 64 percent to $976 mn, sells 3.4 mn phones
Last month, BlackBerry said its revenue decreased 64 percent to $976 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 due to poor demand for its latest smartphones including Z10, Z30, Q10, Q5, etc.
The Ontario, Canada-based smartphone vendor sold 1.1 million BlackBerry smartphones on the latest OS and 2.3 million BlackBerry 7 devices on the old OS in Q4.
Approximately 37 percent revenue came from hardware, 56 percent from services and 7 percent from software and other revenue.
BlackBerry shipped approximately 1.3 million smartphones in Q4 compared to approximately 1.9 million in Q3.
It posted loss of $423 million in Q4 as compared with a loss of $4.4 billion in the year ago quarter.
BlackBerry’s full year revenue decreased 38 percent to $6.8 billion. Net loss was $628 million for the fiscal 2014.
BlackBerry statement reflects market sentiments. Both Samsung and HTC, two Asian smartphone vendors, did not do well in smartphone business.
Samsung on Tuesday posted estimated first-quarter operating profits declined 4.3 percent to 8.4 trillion won ($7.96 billion) from a year earlier. That marks the second quarter of year-on-year decline, after a 6 percent drop in the fourth quarter. Sales were flat at 53 trillion won, up 0.24 percent.
The mobile segment is the largest contributor to Samsung’s revenues and profits. Estimated profits for Samsung’s mobile division grew to 6.2 trillion won, up from 5.5 trillion won in the three months to December, said Young Park, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
HTC, meanwhile, recorded a first-quarter operating loss, its third in a row, of TW$2.05 billion ($62.3 million) on revenues which fell by 22 percent year-on-year of TW$33.12 billion ($1.1 billion).
HTC expects revenues to pick up in the next quarter through sales of the M8 and its mid-range Desire 816, which is aimed at the Chinese market.
The world’s biggest smartphone maker is counting on the fifth version of its flagship Galaxy S smartphone, which goes on sale globally from Friday, to right the ship and prove the firm’s staying power as a mobile innovator. Samsung Galaxy S will be priced at Rs 54,000 in India.
But the Galaxy S5 has already got off to a weak start at home, with its South Korean debut marred by a temporary ban on mobile carriers selling handsets and criticism that it lacks eye-catching new features.
Samsung priced the S5 about 10 percent cheaper than the S4 even though main rival Apple is not widely expected to update its line-up until September.
