BlackBerry Reports Surprise Profit, But Sales Fall Short

BlackBerry Ltd. said it swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter net profit of $28 million, or 5 cents a share, from a loss of $423 million, or 80 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, the smartphone maker said adjusted earnings per share were 4 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of a loss of 4 cents a share. Revenue fell to $660 million from $793 million, missing the FactSet consensus of $791.5 million. During the quarter, about 1.6 million BlackBerry smartphones were sold through to end customers with an average selling price of $211, compared with sales of 1.9 million BlackBerrys with an ASP of $1.80 in the previous quarter. "Our focus this past year was on getting our financial house in order while creating a multi-year growth strategy and investing in our product portfolio," said Chief Executive John Chen. "The second half of our turnaround focuses on stabilization of revenue with sustainable profitability and cash generation." The company said it still anticipates positive free cash flow. The stock is halted in premarket trade for news dissemination, and is expected to resume trading at 7:30 a.m. Eastern. It has lost 15% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.1%.

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