The supply chain for BlackBerry smartphones in Taiwan remains positive about the business outlook for the Canada-based smartphone vendor in the second half of 2013 after the vendor announced lower-than-expected sales performance for the first quarter of the fiscal 2014, which ended May 31, 2013, according to industry sources.

　　Although BlackBerry saw its revenues grow 15% sequentially to US$3.1 billion and smartphone shipments edge up 13% on quarter to 6.8 million in the fiscal first quarter, the quarterly shipment volume was lower than market expectations of 7.5 million units, the sources noted.

　　BlackBerry also reported a GAAP loss of US$84 million, or US$0.16 per share, in the quarter.

　　While BlackBerry did not disclose the sales figures of its newly released BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10, the sources estimated that combined shipments of the two models reached 2.5-3 million units or 40% of its total shipments in the first quarter.

　　Sales of BlackBerry 7 accounted for 60% of total shipments in the first quarter, indicating that most consumers in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America had chosen to buy old models instead of taking high-priced new smartphones, said the sources.

　　The planned release of the entry-level BlackBerry Q5 in the second half of 2013 will help BlackBerry recapture a portion of market share as well as swing back to profitability, commented the sources.