BlackBerry Profit Beats as Bets on Autonomous Technology Pay Off

Canada's BlackBerry reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts' estimates on Thursday, as the company's focus on fast-growing areas, including autonomous cars, boosted billings in its technology solutions unit.

BlackBerry's US-listed shares were up 3 percent in early trading.

The company has shifted to selling software to manage mobile devices, and more recently to driverless technology developers, since losing out to Apple's iPhones and Android devices in the smartphone market, which it once dominated.

BlackBerry's QNX software is being used by automakers and technology companies such as Ford Motor Co, Jaguar Land Rover, Baidu, and Aptiv for their driverless cars in development.

Revenue from its technology solutions segment, which houses QNX, jumped 23.3 percent to $53 million in the quarter.

The company's net profit was $59 million (roughly Rs. 410 crores) for the third quarter ended November 30, compared with a loss of $275 million, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned a profit of 5 cents per share, beating analysts' average estimate of 2 cents, according to IBES data for Refinitiv.

Revenue came in at $226 million, topping estimate of $212.5 million.

© Thomson Reuters 2018