BlackBerry has reported that it has shipped 1 million devices powered by its BlackBerry 10 platform during the fourth quarter ended March 2, as the recovering smartphone maker also reported a profit for the period. Net income in the quarter was $98 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $125 million, or 24 cents a share.
Yet the company, which has lost market share to rivals like Apple Inc, is far from out of the woods. Quarterly revenue fell to $2.68 billion from $4.2 billion a year earlier. Subscriber numbers also slipped, to about 76 million from 79 million as of Dec 1.
For the quarter to 2 March 2013, the company reported a profit of $98 million, compared with a prior-year loss of $125 million, on revenue of $2.68 billion, down from $4.18 billion. For the full year, it reported a loss of $646 million, compared with a fiscal 2012 profit of $1.16 billion, on revenue of $11.07 billion, down from $18.42 billion. During the quarter, 61 per cent of revenue came from hardware, 36 per cent from services, and 3 per cent from software and other revenue.
The Z10 is the first in a line of devices powered by BlackBerry’s new BB10 operating system. It is a key part of the company’s attempt to regain relevance and win back market share in the smartphone arena that it once dominated.
Looking forward, BlackBerry said it will be spending heavily to support the launch of BlackBerry 10 devices, with an anticipated 50 per cent sequential increase in spend in Q1 fiscal 2014. It said that taking this into account, it expects to breakeven in Q1, based on “its lower cost base, more efficient supply chain, and improved hardware margins”.
Thorsten Heins said: “As we go into our new fiscal year, we are excited with the opportunities for the BlackBerry 10 platform, and the commitments we are seeing from our global developers and partners. We are also excited about the new, dynamic culture at BlackBerry, where we are laser-focused on continuing to drive efficiency and improve the company’s profitability while driving innovation.”
