Software Push Pays Off For BlackBerry
BlackBerry Ltd. reported better than expected quarterly sales, signaling its reinvention as a software company is taking hold.
The company reported a profit of $59 million in the quarter ended Nov. 30 from a loss of $275 million a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company said it earned 5 cents a share. Adjusted revenue in the third quarter was $228 million.
BlackBerry's enterprise software and services revenue was $98 million in the third quarter on an adjusted basis, down 7.5 percent from a year earlier. The company previously said it expects software revenue to underperform through fiscal 2019 due to a change in accounting standards.
In recent years, BlackBerry has been reinventing itself as a security software provider under Chief Executive Officer John Chen. The company offers a range of different product lines, such as systems to manage an entire stable of mobile phones, or to let cars securely update their entertainment systems.
For 2019, the company expects total software and services revenue growth of between 8 percent and 10 percent and positive adjusted earnings per share.
The company is also looking to push into health care, Chen said earlier this year.