TCL is reporting its sixth consecutive quarter of losses in smartphone shipment numbers. Year-to-date, shipments are down 35 percent year-over-year to 32.9 million moves. It has also posted $129 million in losses for the first half of the year.

The Hong Kong-listed company, which also manufactures TVs, also acts as an ODM to several brands for smartphones. Alcatel has been a long-time hold while BlackBerry has been the highest profile get. Dormant Palm is supposedly getting a new smartphones after a years-long gap, too.

“Even though the [mobile] business is losing money, we are constantly looking for a balance, and thus the communications business is something we can’t give up,” said Li Dongsheng, chairman of TCL.

That said, Caixin reports TCL sold a 49 percent stake of its communications business to outside investors in October to two Chinese companies: telecoms specialist Unigroup and investment firm Vivid Victory.

Despite self-reported better numbers than ever for BlackBerry phones, it’s still going to take a lot to turn this ship around. Meanwhile, BlackBerry itself is recovering from its failed smartphone experiments.