Blackberry / HI-P

Blackberry / HI-P: Investors hoping for a turn around in the fortunes of the company were left disappointed after BlackBerry shares slumped 27.8% on Friday, wiping out more then a quarter off its market value, as the company reported a dismay set of quarterly results led by weaker then expected sales. The group also guides that it will not register an operating profit in the current quarter. BlackBerry said it shipped 6.8m smartphones in the quarter, including about 2.7m BB10 devices versus market expectations of more than 3m shipments for its new Z10 and Q10 smartphones. On the bright side, BlackBerry's cash position rose to $3.1b, up about $200m from 1Q12. The co has no debt. The latest results has prompted some market watchers to speculate a breakup / potential acquisition from the company, citing that the asset base Blackberry has at hand was still ‘formidable’, which could attract a number of companies to bid for Blackberry. We note that the latest news could be negative for Hi-P who also manufactures handset components for Blackberry.