BlackBerry reports quarterly loss, shares tumble

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BlackBerry reports quarterly loss, shares tumble

Reuters June 28, 2013, 9:13 pm

A BlackBerry salesperson displays a BlackBerry Z10 during the launch of the BlackBerry 10 smartphone in Mumbai February 25, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry on Friday reported a quarterly loss and forecast an operating loss in the current quarter as results came in way below analysts' expectations, sending its shares tumbling 17 percent before the market opened.

The smartphone maker reported a net loss of $84 million, or 16 cents a share, in the fiscal first quarter ended June 1. That compared with a year-earlier loss of $518 million, or 99 cents a share.

Excluding one-time items, Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry reported a loss from continuing operations of $67 million, or 13 cents a share, on revenue of $3.1 billion. Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 6 cents a share, on revenue of $3.36 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Estimates.

Shipments rose in the quarter, but the company gave no breakdown on how many of its smartphone sales came from the new BB10 devices. It is betting the new phones will help it win back some of the market share lost to aggressive competitors.

BlackBerry shares fell 17.2 percent to $11.98 in early U.S. trading.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha and Alastair Sharp; Editing by Janet Guttsman; and Jeffrey Benkoe)