BlackBerry unexpectedly swung to a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter, but reported steep revenue declines on Friday.
The Canadian smartphone maker posted net income of $28 million, or five cents per share, up from a loss of $423 million, or 80 cents per share, a year ago. Analysts thought the company was still losing money and projected a five cent loss.
However, revenue sharply declined to $660 million from $976 million a year ago and was well below analyst estimates of $786 million.
"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 CEO John Chen. "We now have a very good handle on our margins, and our product roadmaps have been well received. The second half of our turnaround focuses on stabilization of revenue with sustainable profitability and cash generation."
Software revenue was a particular bright spot in the fourth quarter, rising 20% to $67 million, reflecting the company's efforts to diversify away from a hardware-dependent model. Yet, it still only accounted for a tenth of the company's total revenue. Forty-two percent of its revenue came through the sale of about 1.3 million BlackBerry smartphones.
In addition to advances into software, BlackBerry introduced several new phones last year, including the square Passport.
Shares of BlackBerry are up about 6% over the last 12 months, but down 11% this year. The stock was volatile on Friday morning, too, at one point popping more than 4% to $9.71.
