There is life yet in BlackBerry (NASAQ:BBRY, TSX:BB), the once dominant smartphone maker, which has reported a sharp increase in software license revenue.
Underlying revenue in the three months to the end of November rose 14% from the preceding quarter to US$557mln, but it was the organic growth in software and services revenue that caught the eye – up 183% year-on-year and 119% quarter-on-quarter to US$162mln.
Reported loss before tax in the quarter was US$120mln, while the adjusted loss was US$46mln.
The company continues to anticipate positive free cash flow and adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) for the full year.
The Canadian technology champion ended the reporting period with a positive net cash balance of US$1.46bn; the company is currently valued at around US$4.3bn.
"I am pleased with our continued progress on BlackBerry's strategic priorities, leading to 14 percent sequential growth in total revenue for Q3. We delivered accelerating growth in enterprise software and higher revenue across all of our areas of focus," said executive chairman and chief executive officer John Chen.
"Our new PRIV device has been well received since its launch in November, and we are expanding distribution to additional carriers around the world in the next several quarters,” he added.
BlackBerry shares were trading 4.6% higher at US$8.16 in pre-market trading.