BlackBerry losses $965 million in 2nd quarter

WATERLOO, Ontario, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Canadian smartphone pioneer BlackBerry said Friday it lost $965 million in its fiscal second quarter on revenue that did not come close to expectations.

Analysts had expected revenues of $3 billion, The New York Times reported. Falling far short of that, BlackBerry said in a filing that revenues in the quarter came to $1.6 billion. The bulk of the losses came from a write-down of more than $934 million for unsold phones.

BlackBerry, formerly known as Research in Motion, said it sold 5.9 million smartphones and shipped just 3.7 million of them, as many of the phones sold were shipped in a previous quarter.

In addition, most of the phones shipped in the second quarter were older model phones the company is phasing out, the Times reported.

On Monday, BlackBerry announced it had accepted a non-binding bid from Canadian investment firm Fairfax Financial Holdings that values the company at $9 per share.

The deal is far from certain. BlackBerry shares have fallen below the $9 per share price offered by Fairfax, which is the company's largest shareholder, holding 10 percent of its stock.

News reports have also said the company was planning to layoff 40 percent of its workforce.

"We understand how some of the activities we are going through create uncertainty, but we remain a financially strong company with $2.6 billion in cash and no debt," BlackBerry Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins said in a statement.

"We are focused on our targeted markets, and are committed to completing our transition quickly in order to establish a more focused and efficient company."