BlackBerry Q4 2017 Earnings: $47 million loss as software focus continues

Waterloo-based BlackBerry’s shift away from hardware and towards software and security, is reflected in the struggling company’s recently released fiscal Q4 2017 quarterly earnings report.

BlackBerry, which is now “a global software leader in securing, connecting and mobilizing enterprises,” company, reported a net loss of $47 million CAD, or $0.09 per share (USD). While the struggling former smartphone giant still recorded a loss, it also experienced a significant improvement over the $238 million it bled over the same period last year.

“I am pleased to report that our Q4 results came in at or above expectations in all major metrics,” said CEO John Chen said in a statement. “In the quarter, we continued to grow our mix of software and services revenue across the company. In turn, this allowed us to expand our operating margin and report positive free cash flow. In addition, our balance sheet continues to strengthen and benefit from reduced capital requirements with our focus on software and licensing.”

Revenues for the quarter hit $286 million, a drop of 38 percent from the same period last year. BlackBerry’s ‘Software & Services’ revenues accounted for $166 million while its ‘Mobility Solutions’ represented $82 million. As for revenues per region, North America makes up 58 percent of all revenues with $166 million, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa account for $83 million (29 percent), with Asia Pacific $32 million (11.2 percent), and Latin America representing $5 million (1.8 percent).

There was no mention in the report regarding how many smartphones were sold this quarter, with the company only highlighting its recent manufacturing agreements with TCL regarding the upcoming release of the BlackBerry KEYone, as well as the BlackBerry Aurora with BB Merah Putih.

In Q4, BlackBerry increased its cash on hand by $89 million, amounting to a total of $1.7 billion on-hand.