Troubled smartphone maker BlackBerry tried to quell user concern about its future, publishing an open letter with the message “you can continue to count on BlackBerry”.

According to Reuters, it has been published in 30 news outlets across nine countries, as well as being distributed via social media.

Last month, BlackBerry said that uncertainty about its prospects is likely to have impacted demand for its products, particularly among its core enterprise customer base – where stability is a much lauded attribute.

Although the company has agreed a $4.7 billion deal with Fairfax Financial which would see it taken private, there is scepticism that this will come to fruition, and in the meantime several alternative bids have been reported.

While acknowledging that “these are no doubt challenging times for use and we don’t underestimate the situation or ignore the challenges”, the open letter highlighted that “we have substantial cash in hand and a balance sheet that is debt free”.

It also said that “we are restructuring with a goal to cut our expenses by 50 per cent in order to run a very efficient, customer-oriented organisation”.

The open letter also looked to reiterate BlackBerry’s strengths, as a “best in class productivity tool”, offering “best in class security”, “best in class enterprise mobility management”, and “best in class mobile social network”.