BlackBerry's Heins beams: We WILL make some cash, just you see
Mobe supremo insists breaking up his biz makes less sense than the Q5
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BlackBerry chief exec Thorsten Heins has asked investors for patience while the company-formerly-known-as-RIM tries to figure out how to make money again.
Heins said that he was open to any options that might give shareholders some return from their investment, including licensing deals or even selling off the firm, Reuters, the Canadian Press and others reported.
"We are still in the midst of a major, complex transition of this company," he told the annual meeting. "This is a long-term transition for the company, but I can assure you that we're pushing very hard."
"BlackBerry will pursue every opportunity to create value for shareholders," he added.
The company's supposed saviour, the shiny new BlackBerry 10 OS, has failed to dazzle the mobile market, with devices carrying the system not selling as well as the firm had hoped in the first full quarter on the market.
Without a boost from BB10 and with another operating loss forecast for the current quarter, BlackBerry's shares have dropped another 30 per cent since it reported a surprise second quarter loss in June.
At the meeting, activist shareholder Vic Alboini of Jaguar Financial once more raised the option of breaking up the company to sell itself off in pieces.
Heins didn't give a definite no to the option, but said it wasn't the right move right now.
"Before you go into any option, you have to create value, and the value of the company 15 months ago was way less than today," he said.
However, he said he knew that stockholders weren't all that pleased with how the fortunes of the firm have changed.
"Clearly, in the short term, investors expect better results and faster progress from us," he said. "I can assure you, we are driving night and day to implement the improvements in our company necessary to build this as a strong company for the long term." ®
