While BlackBerry sales goals are on target thanks to the launch of the Priv, the company isn’t out of the woods yet, with revenue figures not yet on track.
So close, yet so far; BlackBerry sales goals have met the standard set by its CEO, John Chen, but the company faces other challenges in the form of a crippling lack of revenue.
Chen has aimed to sell five million smartphones over the course of the year, with present projections indicating that the company is on track to meet its goal. However, the lack of sufficient revenue from the device in the company’s most recent fiscal quarter – with investor confidence in a low mood, to boot – means that the company’s plans to sell smartphones in the long-term might not be a certainty.
Read: BlackBerry Priv Review: Crossing the Rubicon
While Chen has remained bullish with his hopes for the Priv, the CEO has remained open to the possibility of failure, stating that “œMy number one focus is to stay in the hardware business beyond September, but I‘m also a realist, I‘m not going to stay in the business and continue losing money.”
Chen’s last revision to BlackBerry’s sales goals saw the company prepared to ship three million units a year at an average price of $300 USD, with the fiscal year so far offering 3.2 million total sales of the company’s new Android smartphone.
However, the company’s most recent quarterly sales figure – 600,00, mixed with a slow roll-out of the Priv and the fact that the company’s revenues have slumped by $100 million USD don’t paint a rosy picture for the future of the Canadian manufacturer.
Chen has continued to tease a mid-range Android phone that would be released before year end, which present rumours indicate is codenamed “Vienna”.
Read: BlackBerry‘s “œVienna“ smartphone leaks
What are your thoughts on BlackBerry’s current predicament? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
