CC Image courtesy of Ben Stassen on Flickr.
BlackBerry’s chief executive officer (CEO) John Chen has said the company may consider exiting the handset market if it remains unprofitable, according to a report.
Reuters reported the company would then seek to expand its corporate activities through investments, acquisitions and partnerships.
“If I cannot make money on handsets, I will not be in the handset business,” Chen told Reuters, saying the decision would need to be made soon.
Chen took over from the departing Thorstein Heins late last year, implementing a turnaround strategy for the company after his appointment.
BlackBerry has been suffering dwindling market share with sales of its handsets decreasing at a drastic rate.
HumanIPO reported last year the company would be cutting its staff and expenses by 50 per cent after sales reached a six-year low, moving only 3.7 million units.
The announcement came just three months after the company reported a loss of US$84 million in the first quarter of 2013.
BlackBerry then announced an annual loss of US$5.9 billion during 2013.
However, losses for the last quarter – ending March 1 – were lower than expected at US$423 million, compared with US$4.4 billion in the previous quarter.
The company said it was pleased with its fourth quarter results and that it was on “a path to returning to growth and profitability”.
