BlackBerry reported a massive $4.4-billion (3.2-billion-euro) net loss in the third quarter, marking a 56-percent drop in revenue compared with the same period a year earlier.

It attributed the extent of the loss to a $4.6-billion charge for an inventory write-down and other one-off effects accumulating in the quarter under review.

The Waterloo-based firm presented its first quarterly earnings report under its new chairman and interim CEO, John Chen.

Strategic partnership

He insisted the company was "very much alive," but was putting more emphasis on its software business than its failed hardware segment.

The firm's shares dipped 7 percent on the fresh figures in pre-market trading. BlackBerry has been trying to get back onto a sound footing by cutting thousands of jobs globally.

The company has also given up large parts of its production capacity, announcing a five-year partnership with Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest manufacturer of electronic components and devices.

hg/msh (AFP, AP, dpa)