It is good news that the Department of Defense (DoD) is upgrading its mobility capability but it is not really good news for BlackBerry. Contrary to what made headlines earlier this week, the Pentagon denied that it is purchasing new units from the handset manufacturer.
At the start of the week, the stock of BlackBerry jumped from $9 to around $11 on the back of reports that Pentagon has decided to purchase 80,000 BlackBerry handsets, which BlackBerry also did not deny.
On Thursday, however, a representative of DoD sent an official statement to The Verge to clarify the reports that surfaced this week.
"Absolutely no new orders have been placed for new BB devices. The DISA press release put out Jan. 16 never alluded to any devices being purchased. The 80,000 BBs and 1,800 non-BB devices referenced in the release are legacy systems already in DoD inventories."
The press release referred to is an update about the unclassified mobility capability of the DoD that will allow military personnel to access secure apps and encrypted messages. While the numbers mentioned were astonishing, the wording was misinterpreted by most media outlets.
"The program currently supports 1,800 unclassified mobile devices including iPad 3 and 4, iPhone 4S and 5, Samsung 10.1 tablets and Samsung 3S, and Motorola RAZR devices with participation from the combatant commands, services, and agencies throughout DOD. The program also supports 80,000 BlackBerry phones," the statement read.
The good news turned to bad news might have caused the stocks of the company drop by as much as five percent during Thursday's afternoon trading but investors seem to be rallying behind the company's new chief executive John Chen who has a good record of helping struggling companies back to profitability.
The BlackBerry CEO is also being backed up by investors in the sale of most of its real estate properties in Canada to raise more cash for the company.
"BlackBerry remains committed to being headquartered in Waterloo and having a strong presence in Canada along with other global hubs. This initiative will further enhance BlackBerry's financial flexibility, and will provide additional resources to support our operations as our business continues to evolve," Chen said in a statement. The amount that will be raised was not disclosed but with more than three million square feet, the move can translate to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Chen has been doing a house cleanup and getting rid of top executives and even celebrity endorsers. He also made pronouncements that the company will be sticking to the formula that made it successful in the past - QWERTY keyboards, enterprise customers, and government deals. He also lambasted critics of the brand in an open letter in December.
During pre-market hours on Friday, BlackBerry shares were down 5.26 percent at $9.90.
