BlackBerry Limited said on Friday that it has entered into a five-year strategic partnership with Foxconn that will initially focus on smartphones for Indonesia and other fast-growing markets targeting early 2014. Foxconn will manufacture BlackBerry products at facilities in Indonesia and Mexico. BlackBerry will still own all of its intellectual property (IP) and perform product assurance.
The company revealed that it will focus on market segments where its continuous innovations in secure hardware, software and services remain "critical and integral" to enterprise and government customers. The company also plans to drive adoption of its BlackBerry Messenger service; deliver real-time, reliable and secure messaging through its Network Operations Center (NOC); and grow its enterprise mobility and mobile device management business.
"BlackBerry is an iconic brand with great technology and a loyal international fan base," said Terry Gou, Founder and Chairman, Foxconn. "We are pleased to be working with BlackBerry as it positions itself for future growth, and we look forward to a successful strategic partnership in which Foxconn will jointly develop and manufacture new BlackBerry devices in both Indonesia and Mexico for new and existing markets."
The news arrives after BlackBerry revealed a hefty $4.4 billion GAAP-adjusted loss for fiscal 3Q 2014. The loss includes a non-cash, pre-tax charge against long-lived assets of approximately $2.7 billion, a primarily non-cash, pre-tax charge against inventory and supply commitments of approximately $1.6 billion, and pre-tax restructuring, legal and financial advisory charges of approximately $266 million. The company "recognized" hardware revenue on approximately 1.9 million BlackBerry smartphones compared to approximately 3.7 units sold in the previous quarter.
Most of the units recognized were BlackBerry 7 devices, the company admitted.
"During the quarter, approximately 4.3 million BlackBerry smartphones were sold through to end customers, which included shipments made and recognized prior to the third quarter and which reduced the Company's inventory in channel. Of the BlackBerry smartphones sold through to end customers in the third quarter, approximately 3.2 million were BlackBerry 7 devices," BlackBerry revealed.
On December 2, John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry, said in a letter that BlackBerry is here to stay despite rumors. The company is going through yet another restructuring period, and is refocusing resources. He also assured investors that the BlackBerry infrastructure and solutions are secure.
