BlackBerry to stop making smartphones? Company ready to halt production if poor numbers continue

Twitter courtesy of BlackBerry

BlackBerry is accepting the grim reality that they may have to give up on smartphones if their revenues continue to drop.

That was the sentiment conveyed by BlackBerry CEO John Chen in an interview with Bloomberg.

Chen also said that if revenues continue to fall, another possible way for the company to recover from its malaise is to begin cutting down production when it comes to the number of models they make, especially the lower-end devices, and instead focus more of their resources on catering to the wants and needs of professionals as they did successfully back in their heyday.

Since taking over, Chen has already employed some cost-cutting measures in the form of increased outsourcing and also allowing Waterloo to work in partnership with other manufacturers in order to make new devices.

Chen has also overseen the release of newer BlackBerry models such as the Passport and the BlackBerry Classic.

Despite the moves made by Chen, BlackBerry has still seen its profit margins plummet to dangerously low levels. Most recently, it has been reported that the company's smartphone revenue fell by 31 percent, all the way down to $263 million.

BlackBerry's share of the smartphone market has also continued to dwindle, with the number now falling to under one percent.

In related news, BlackBerry is also running into some problems while operating in Pakistan, according to ZD Net.

According to what is reportedly a memo coming directly from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the three biggest cell phone service providers in the country have been ordered to halt support for the company's encrypted messaging service.

The exact reason as to why Pakistan is having BlackBerry's encrypted messaging service shut down has not been specified, other than the country saying it is doing so due to security concerns.

It is unknown how many customers are going to be affected by the service being shut down, but estimates have put it at upwards of a few thousand.