BlackBerry posts $207 million loss

(AP)—BlackBerry posted a loss of $207 million in the second quarter on Friday just days after the embattled company launched a new phone.

The Canadian company said it lost two cents per share on an adjusted basis on revenue of $916 million.

The loss was smaller than its loss of $965 million a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a loss of 15 cents on higher sales of $951 million.

Earlier this week, Chief Executive John Chen unveiled a large-screen, square sized phone called the Passport to a Toronto audience. No launch event was held in the U. S. where analysts say there is little demand or carrier interest. BlackBerry has increasingly lost relevance as a smartphone company in the years since the 2007 launch of Apple's touchscreen iPhone and the 2008 introduction of Google-powered Android phones.

Chen said on a conference call with analysts that BlackBerry is "definitely in the first half" of an eight quarter turnaround. "We might not be at the lowest point but we are near the bottoming out of this revenue," Chen said

Chen, who became CEO 10 months ago after a failed sale attempt, reiterated that he wants the company to return to profit by the end of the fiscal year in February 2015.

Since taking over, Chen has been putting more emphasis on BlackBerry's mobile device management business, a collection of software that allows IT departments to manage different devices connected to their corporate networks. He has also emphasized messaging service as well as Blackberry's embedded QNX software systems, which are used in-vehicle infotainment systems and industrial machines.

Shares of BlackBerry fell 16 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $9.64 in premarket trading shortly before the market opening Friday.

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