BlackBerry returns to profit, but not due to a surge in sales. Surprisingly, the Canadian company closed the fiscal fourth quarter with a profit of 28 million dollars (equal to 5 cents per share), reversing the trend from the $148 million red (-28 cents per share) recorded in the same period last year.
Excluding special items, earnings were 4 cents a share, versus a loss from 8 cents a share a year ago. Analysts were expecting a 4-cent red for the quarter just closed.
The positive result, however, is not linked so much to the relaunch of products such as smartphones or security software, but to the cost cutting strategywhich is starting to bear fruit.
Still in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, in fact, the turnover of BlackBerry fell to $660 million, from $976 million in the same period last year and below the $786 million expected by analysts.
For the full year, the company posted profits of $303,5 million on revenues of $3,33 billion. A positive sign is that the revenue generated by the software division increased by 20% to 67 million dollars.
