BlackBerry Posts Huge Losses

$4.4 billion for the quarter

BlackBerry Ltd , after giving up on a plan to sell itself last month, reported a massive $4.4 billion quarterly loss on Friday as sales of its smartphones shriveled and it booked a huge inventory writedown.

Even so, its shares surged 16 percent to $7.26 in morning trading as investors welcomed a move by the Canadian company that could ease the risk of more writedowns for unsold phones.

BlackBerry said it has entered a five-year partnership with Foxconn Technology Co Ltd to develop and manufacture handsets, starting with a low-end device built for Indonesia and other emerging markets. The deal means that BlackBerry will no longer pay upfront for components for devices produced by Foxconn on its behalf.