BlackBerry makes loss of $1.22bn

BlackBerry offered some hope to investors as it swung back into the black in the last quarter, but the smartphone maker still crashed to an annual loss of $1.22bn (£800m).

The company, which recently dropped its corporate name Research in Motion in favour of its top-selling smartphone brand, saw revenues tumble 36 per cent to $2.7bn in the three months to 3 March. Annual revenues were only $11bn against $18bn a year earlier, in a further sign of how BlackBerry, once the smartphone market leader, has been falling further behind Apple and Samsung.

BlackBerry sold 6 million smartphones and only 370,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets in the quarter, which included the Christmas sales period.

But the total number of BlackBerry subscribers fell by 3 million.

Thorsten Heins, the chief executive, said the much-delayed Z10 range was faring well, with one million sold since its January launch – better than some analysts' expectations. "Customers love the device and the user experience," said Mr Heins, who is ramping up marketing spend by 50 per cent.