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BB10 fails to turn a profit as BlackBerry posts £55m loss

New devices like the Z10 aren't digging the phone-maker out of its financial hole, but analysts say it's too soon to count BlackBerry out.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
Luke Westaway
2 min read

The introduction of its new operating system earlier this year hasn't helped BlackBerry to conquer its financial struggles, with the Canadian phone-maker announcing a surprise $84m (roughly £55m) loss for the three months up to 1 June.

While BlackBerry says that smart phone sales are up 13 per cent since the previous quarter, that clearly isn't earning the company enough cash, as the sales boost hasn't helped the ailing firm with its bottom line.

Analysts had expected BlackBerry to turn a profit in the period, CNN Money reports, but it wasn't to be. BlackBerry reckons it will also post a loss in the three-month period from July to September, commenting that the world of phone-building "remains highly competitive".

Despite introducing new gadgets like the Z10 and the keyboard-sporting Q10, BlackBerry's share of the smart phone pie is still tiny compared to the likes of Apple and Samsung.

BlackBerry said it flogged 6.8 million smart phones in that three month period -- by comparison Samsung boasted that it sold 10 million Galaxy S4s in the phone's first month on sale, and Apple sold 5 million iPhone 5s during its first weekend.

Down but not out?

While the results are certainly not encouraging, it may be too soon to call BlackBerry 10 a failure.

"It remains too early to tell whether the new BlackBerry 10 platform can emerge as a credible alternative to Android or iOS," CCS Insight's Ben Wood told CNET, "and with shipments of the long-awaited Q10 device and recently announced Q5 only just starting in many markets we need to wait a couple more quarters before writing off BlackBerry's chances."

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Watch this: BlackBerry Z10