BlackBerry reports quarterly profit, 1 mln sales of new Z10

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry announced better than expected results on Thursday, driven by demand for its new touchscreen device which holds the key to a successful turnaround for the smartphone maker.

BlackBerry, based in Waterloo, Ontario-based, said it sold about 1 million of the new Z10 device in the quarter, and shipped roughly 6 million smartphones in the quarter ended March 2.

Net income in the quarter was $98 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with a year earlier profit of $9 million, or 2 cents a share.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Janet Guttsman)