BlackBerry boosted its fiscal 2017 earnings outlook and posted a profit in the third quarter, showing the company’s bet on moving more into software and completely away from handsets is paying off.
Fiscal third-quarter earnings per share, excluding some items, were 2 cents, compared with analysts’ average estimate of a loss of 1 cent. BlackBerry said it now expects to post a profit for the full year, up from a prior range of break even to a five-cent loss, according to a statement.
Total revenue was down and missed estimates, but the profit numbers and forecast show BlackBerry’s transition to a higher-margin software company from ailing smartphone maker is hitting Chief Executive Officer John Chen’s targets.
The adjusted profit margin was almost 70 percent of revenue, its highest ever.
Chen said that BlackBerry’s software revenue would grow to around $640 million in the year ending March, compared with $494 million the previous year.
