BlackBerry shares plummet 26% after posting unexpected loss

Shares of BlackBerry plummeted more than 25% Friday after the company posted an unexpected quarterly loss and didn’t break out the specifics of its smartphone sales.

At 8 a.m. Pacific time, shares were down $3.70, or 26%, to $10.78.

The Canadian company reported a loss of $84 million, or 16 cents a share, on revenue of $3.1 billion. Adjusted for one-time events, BlackBerry lost $67 million, or 13 cents.

Analysts had expected an adjusted profit of 7.6 cents a share on revenue of $3.37 billion, according to consensus estimates by Bloomberg.

“I can’t imagine anyone is happy with BlackBerry performance except maybe BlackBerry competitors,” said Jeff Kagan, a technology industry analyst. “Can BlackBerry turn things around with their new Q10? Hopefully yes, but to tell you the truth hopes are dimmed by this first-quarter performance.”

During the same quarter last year, BlackBerry posted a loss of $518 million, or 99 cents a share, on revenue of $2.8 billion.

BlackBerry also said it shipped 6.8 million smartphones, up 13% from the previous quarter. But in the same quarter a year earlier, the company had sold 7.8 million smartphones.

Analysts were hoping BlackBerry would break down its smartphone sales by model.

It was a pivotal quarter for BlackBerry. The company this month released its much-anticipated Q10 smartphone featuring its signature Qwerty physical keyboard. Amid rumors that the touchscreen-only Z10 was not selling well -- BlackBerry hasn’t provided hard sales numbers -- the company desperately needed consumers to flock to the Q10.

Both phones are running BlackBerry 10, a completely revamped operating system that debuted early this year after months of delays. The new OS allows for separate work and personal profiles; eliminates the need for a home button; and makes multi-tasking across apps simple.

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said in a statement that the rollout of BlackBerry 10 and its devices was “still in the early stages.”

BlackBerry also warned that it expected to see an operating loss for the current quarter.

“The smartphone market remains highly competitive, making it difficult to estimate units, revenue and levels of profitability,” the company said.

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