BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 sales failing to save BlackBerry

News Clare Hopping 17:00, 28 Jun 2013

Strong BlackBerry Q10 and Z10 sales seem to have had no affect on BlackBerry's shares with the latest results looking grim

BlackBerry has posted its quarterly results with a 28 percent loss in share value.

Smartphone sales were up 13 percent on the last quarter, thanks to the launch of the BlackBerry Q10 and Z10 though, so it's not all bad news for the company formerly known as RIM, but overall deliveries were down due to its older line of BlackBerry devices failing to keep up the pace.

Reuters says, 'BlackBerry reported a loss from continuing operations of $67 million, or 13 cents a share, on revenue of $3.1 billion. Earnings were also reduced about 10 cents a share due to Venezuelan currency restrictions.'

Analyst Brian Colello commented, 'We haven't received the BlackBerry 10 unit numbers yet, but certainly it doesn't bode well for the initial BlackBerry 10 launch, particularly the Z10. But even the outlook for a Q2 loss doesn't bode well for the Q10 either.'

Two weeks ago, we reported sales of the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 had smashed analyst estimates, but even with positive sale figures, BlackBerry hasn't managed to reaffirm its place in the smartphone market.

BlackBerry Z10 & BlackBerry Q10 smash analyst estimates

Rob Bamforth, Principal Analyst, Business Communications at Quocirca told Know Your Mobile, 'BlackBerry's results are disappointing and while the new products (Z10 & Q10) are the right sort of hardware products the company needed to keep up on that side, it really didn't act fast enough when the market was changing, and is now suffering the consequences in its financials.'

'For a while it looked too much like Research in (slow) Motion and some of its software innovation and direction has been lost in the over focus on hardware. Having the best small keyboard in town is no longer enough.'

The BlackBerry Z10 was the first BlackBerry 10 device to launch and although the keyboard-toting Q10 is sure to attract the older BlackBerry fans, the company still lags behind in comparison to Android and iOS.

BlackBerry Q10 review and latest prices

The BlackBerry Z10, a true touchscreen device with no keyboard was a whole new ballgame for BlackBerry and although the form factor, build quality and even the OS to some extent brought BlackBerry back up-to-date, the company is still struggling to find its place in the market.

BlackBerry Z10 review

The BlackBerry Q5 is due to go on sale for £359.99 and that could help the company recover from some of its losses. BlackBerry has traditionally been the choice for business, but its high price points with the Q10 and Z10 probably contributed to the company failing to hit sales targets.