BlackBerry, formerly known as Research in Motion, is set to report its quarterly earnings before the opening bell tomorrow. Analysts are not expecting an immediate turnaround from the Canadian manufacturer, but there is hope of a performance improvement that might just signal the start of a long-term recovery.

Analysts’ consensus forecast is that the company will report earnings of 39 cents per share on revenue of $2.84 billion. Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu reiterated his firm’s Neutral rating on BlackBerry and wrote that:

“We anticipate the company to meet or beat consensus given BB10 momentum and a low bar where expectations are for sizable Y/Y declines in both revenue and EPS. However, we remain on the sidelines as we are concerned with lack of profitability and cash usage given higher spending, lower service fees, and rising BOM costs. Moreover, it remains to be seen if BB10 can regain broader acceptance against iOS and Android.”

BlackBerry’s stock climbed 115 percent in the past six months, and 35 percent since December. Shareholders are expecting management to deliver solid proof that it can beat the market’s pacifism and regain profitably, even if the latter goal cannot be fulfilled in the near future.

The new BlackBerry 10 operating system is light years ahead of preceding versions, but it remains to be seen whether it can win over users in the current marketplace.  BlackBerry’s recent growth is attributed to the company’s revamped OS and supporting handset lineup, though the perceived success of BlackBerry’s earnings call tomorrow could be adversely impacted by the minimal excitement carriers have shown towards the phone-maker’s latest device.

The BB10-powered Z10 became available in the US over the weekend. SiliconAngle contributing editor John Casaretto reported that there weren’t any “Apple-like media and buyer frenzies and lines built up to buy the product,” but there is a strong chance that there will be “consistent waves” of consumers purchasing the handset over the course of the next few months.