BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB)(NASDAQ:BBRY) reported its latest quarterly earnings on Friday. Investors were quite happy with the numbers.
Despite revenue falling 36% versus the same period last year – mostly due to the company’s decision to to exit the mobile hardware business – sales of $297 million U.S. were still $3 million U.S. above expectations.
Expenses fell even more, decreasing 49%. Perhaps most importantly, software sales and service revenue was up handily, increasing 12.2%.
Quarterly adjusted profit was $0.04 U.S. per share, which handily beat analyst estimates. Analysts guessed the company would lose $0.04 U.S. per share.
The company reported total cash and cash equivalents of $1.7 billion U.S. at the end of the quarter, up $89 million U.S. After accounting for its debt, net cash was approximately $1.1 billion U.S.
BlackBerry also released upbeat guidance. It told the market it expected to be profitable on a non-GAAP basis during its fiscal 2018 and deliver positive free cash flow.
BlackBerry officially announced in 2016 that it would be abandoning the hardware business, choosing instead to focus solely on software. Phones in developing markets like Indonesia and India still carry the BlackBerry logo. They’re made by other manufacturers who then pay a royalty back to Waterloo-based BlackBerry.
CEO John Chen is focused on software going forward, saying "looking ahead to fiscal 2018, we expect to grow at or above the overall market in our software business."
Investors cheered the results and sent BlackBerry shares soaring during early afternoon trading on Friday. Shares surged 12.8% or $1.19 each to $10.46 per share, their highest level since November.
