Blackberry (NASDAQ:BBRY) fell in morning trades after the embattled Canadian smartphone maker reported disappointing results in its fiscal first quarter.
Shares were down 1 percent at $9.10 at 9:50 a.m. in New York. The stock has lost 18 percent so far this year.
Blackberry posted a first-quarter adjusted loss of $0.05 per share in the three months ended May 30, according to a statement released today from the Waterloo, Ontario-based company.
That was wider than the $0.03 loss per share estimated by 23 analysts on average, according to Capital IQ data.
Revenue fell to $658 million from $966 million a year ago, lagging behind the Wall Street consensus of $679 million.
Blackberry, which used to dominate the world of mobile business, has seen its share of the global smartphone market slide to less than 1 percent after rivals like Apple came in. The Canadian company has since narrowed the target audience for its phones to financial professionals and government workers who demand a rigorous level of security.
Blackberry said its turnaround gained traction as sales at its crucial software segment rose in the first quarter and its broader revenue slide began to ease.
Its software revenue more than doubled from a year ago to $137 million as the company pivots to that segment.
The company forecasts a return to profitability during the fiscal year. "Our financials reflect increased investments to sales and customer support for our software business," said chief executive officer John Chen in the statement. "In addition, we are taking steps to make the handset business profitable. We believe these actions are prudent and necessary to grow the business and we believe the remaining milestones in our strategic plan are achievable."
Separately, Blackberry announced a long-term patent cross-licensing agreement with Cisco Systems that covers their respective products and technologies. Blackberry said that it will receive a license fee from Cisco, but terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The agreement is part of Chen's push to license and monetize the company's deep pool of patents that it has built up over the years.
Blackberry said it has signed partnership deals with Wistron and Compal Electronics, extending the company's reliance on others for joint development and manufacturing of its devices as it aims for profitability in its handset business. The company already has a deal in place with Taiwanese electronics company Foxconn Technology.