Technology has-been Blackberry Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSX:BB) saw a renaissance today after the software and mobile security company posted a surprise profit in its third quarter.
Excluding non-recurring items, the Canadian-headquartered firm reported adjusted earnings per share of 2 US cents for the quarter to November 30, beating consensus forecasts for it to be at breakeven.
Blackberry’s net loss for the third quarter narrowed to US$117mln, or 22 US cents a share, from a US$372mln, or 71 US cents loss per share a year earlier.
But its quarterly sales missed expectations, with revenue falling to US$289mln, down from US$334mln, and below the consensus of estimate US$330mln.
Blackberry’s executive chairman and chief executive officer, John Chen said: "We achieved significant milestones in Q3, delivering the highest gross margin in the company's history for the second consecutive quarter and continuing to transform our infrastructure and operations to support an enterprise software business."
He added: “We are raising our outlook on profitability for FY17. “We now expect to achieve non-GAAP EPS profitability for the full year, up from a prior range of breakeven to a five cent loss.
“This is the third consecutive quarter we have increased our EPS outlook, reflecting the traction we are achieving in our shift to a software business model.”
Blackberry shares, which have fallen by around 17% in the year to date, were around 3% higher in pre-market trading in New York.