BlackBerry earnings fall short of forecasts

Shares in BlackBerry, the Canadian company that invented the smartphone market, are down sharply in pre-market trade after its first-quarter shipment numbers missed Wall Street forecasts.

The struggling company reported an adjusted loss from ongoing operations in the first quarter of $67m compared to a profit of $94m the previous quarter. The company also predicted more losses in the second quarter.

Shares look set to tumble at the start of trading in New York and Toronto, with the shares down 17 per cent pre-market trading.,

Thorsten Heins, who took over as chief executive last January, is betting that a new line of phones based on a fresh operating system can reignite its fortunes.

"During the first quarter, we continued to focus our efforts on the global roll out of the BlackBerry 10 platform," said Mr Heins in a statement.,

BlackBerry shipped 6.8m phones in the first quarter, up from 6m a year ago, thanks to the launch of its touchscreen phones.

But Wall Street was forecasting an increase to 7.45m.

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