BlackBerry posts Q1 profit of $23 mn; sells 1.6 mn smartphones

Canadian handset maker BlackBerry today reported a higher-than-expected net profit of USD 23 million in the quarter ended May 31, helped by growing smartphone sales and higher adoption of enterprise services.
The firm sold 1.6 million smartphones in the March-May quarter and issued 1.2 million BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 licences, in a sign of recovery with the embattled company finally coming out of the red.
The Waterloo (Ontario)-headquartered firm had posted a net loss of USD 84 million is the year-ago period.
Revenue for the first quarter of its fiscal 2015 stood at USD 966 million, down 1 per cent from USD 976 million in the same quarter of previous fiscal.

About 39 per cent of the revenue came from hardware, including handsets, 54 per cent from services and 7 per cent from software and other revenue.
"Over the past six months, we have focused on improving efficiency in all aspects of our operations to drive cost reductions and margin improvement. Looking forward, we are focusing on our growth plan to enable our return to profitability," BlackBerry Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Chen said.

The company sold about 1.6 million BlackBerry smartphones compared with about 1.3 million in the previous quarter.
Handset sales, including shipments made and recognised prior to the first quarter and those that reduced "the company's inventory in channel," were about 2.6 million smartphones, it said.

During the quarter, the firm said it launched 'Project Ion' focused on the Internet of Things market.
Cash and investments stood at USD 3.1 billion at the end of the quarter, up from USD 2.7 billion in the prior quarter.
To check mounting losses and improve operational efficiencies, BlackBerry sold real estate holdings in the US and Canada.
In May, the firm said it would sell a majority of its Canadian real estate holdings to real estate investment firm Spear Street for about USD 278 million, whereas in March, it sold its US office in Texas to Brookfield Property Group.

The firm said it "reduced adjusted operating expenses by 57 per cent year over year and 13 per cent quarter over quarter."
"The company anticipates maintaining its strong cash position, while increasingly looking for opportunities to prudently invest in growth. The company is targeting break-even cash flow results by the end of fiscal 2015," BlackBerry said.