BlackBerry Posts Q4 Profit, But Revenue Misses Views

BlackBerry Ltd. BBRY posted a surprise profit for the fiscal fourth quarter, but the company's sales missed analysts' estimates. The Waterloo, Canada-based company posted a quarterly net profit of $28 million, or $0.05 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $423 million, or $0.80 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, the company posted adjusted earnings of $0.04 per share, versus a loss of $0.08 per share. Its quarterly revenue dropped to $660 million from $976 million in the year-ago period. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.05 per share on revenue of $786.4 million. During the quarter, the company sold around 1.6 million BlackBerry smartphones to end customers with an average selling price of $211, versus an average selling price of $180 in the prior quarter. At the end of the fiscal quarter, the company had cash and investments balance of $3.27 billion, a rise of $608 million from Q4 FY14. BlackBerry posted a positive cash flow of $76 million during the same quarter, versus a negative $784 million in the year-ago quarter. "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. We now have a very good handle on our margins, and our product roadmaps have been well received," said Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen. "The second half of our turnaround focuses on stabilization of revenue with sustainable profitability and cash generation." BlackBerry still projects positive free cash flow. The average estimate of 60 users surveyed by Estimize was for a loss of $0.01 per share and revenue of $887.36 million. BlackBerry shares gained 1.29% to $9.42 in pre-market trading.