Recent reports suggest that struggling handset maker BlackBerry might opt to exit the handset business if things don’t turn out to be in its favor. BlackBerry CEO, John Chen, on Wednesday said if the company’s exiting handset business remains unprofitable then the company might have to take a harsh decision of shutting it down as it is looking to expand its corporate reach with investments, acquisitions and partnerships.
“If I cannot make money on handsets, I will not be in the handset business,” Chen told Reuters. Although Chen did not announce a specific timeframe, he said he will be making a decision as to whether to stay in the handset-making business shortly. He added that BlackBerry should be profitable selling as few as 10 million handsets.
Chen said BlackBerry is also looking out for new acquisitions and partnerships to boost its investments. The company is looking forward to invest in or team up with other companies in regulated industries such as in fields like health care, finance, and legal services, all of which require private, secure communications, which BlackBerry can provide.
The CEO said he has already begun talks with various companies around the world and “the initial feedback has been very strong in terms of interest level.”
“We are building an engineering team on the service side that is focused on security. We are building an engineering team on the device side that is focused on security. We will do some partnerships and we will probably, potentially do an M&A on security,” Chen said.
BlackBerry shares on Wednesday were up by 14 cents, or 1.76 percent, to $8.10 in after-hours trading.
