The company said it plans to record a GAAP net operating loss during the July to September quarter of almost $1 billion as it writes down an excess of Z10 smartphones that it failed to sell.
It expects sales for the quarter to be around $1.6 billion, a drop of 45 percent from the same quarter in 2012, the company said Friday.
It sold around 5.9 million handsets, but will only recognize revenue on 3.7 million phones as the remainder had already been shipped to dealers in a previous quarter.
In light of the poor results, the company said it plans to restructure and lay off around 4,500 staff and cut the number of phones it sells from six to fourth handsets. Those phones will be targeted at the enterprise and prosumer markets.
"We are implementing the difficult, but necessary operational changes announced today to address our position in a maturing and more competitive industry, and to drive the company toward profitability," Thorsten Heins, BlackBerry president and CEO, said in a statement.
"Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user. This puts us squarely on target with the customers that helped build BlackBerry into the leading brand today for enterprise security, manageability and reliability."
Despite Heins' focus on the future, many in the industry wonder just how long the company will be able to survive in the cut-throat smartphone market.
The company has already said it's evaluating "strategic alternatives." That's often code for a breakup of a company or acquisition by a competitor.
The BlackBerry 10 operating system came to market more than a year late at a time when many of its once-fanatical users had switched to rival platforms from Apple, Google and Microsoft. Friday's statement doesn't do much to reassure current users and investors that BlackBerry will be able to turn itself around.
Canada's stock market regulator suspended trading in BlackBerry shares a few minutes before the company made its announcement. The stock plummeted when trading resumed, at one point losing almost a quarter of its value.
BlackBerry is scheduled to announced full financial results for the second quarter on Sept. 27.
Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2012 International Data Group. All rights reserved.
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