BlackBerry Posts a Profit, Ships 1 Million BB10 Devices
BlackBerry surprised Wall Street on Thursday by reporting a profit for its most recent quarter, posting a net gain of $94 million on revenue of $2.7 billion. Compare that to the previous quarter, during which time the company formerly known as Research In Motion (RIM) lost $18 million. Indeed, a name change now seems entirely appropriate.
It wasn't a new attitude that ultimately lifted BlackBerry out of the red, at least for a quarter. For its fiscal year, BlackBerry recorded loss of $646 million, so there's still plenty of ground to make up. However, this is no longer RIM we're dealing with, it's BlackBerry, and along with the name change came a new attitude, a new platform, and a new product line.
BlackBerry said it shipped 6 million smartphones last year quarter, including 1 million BlackBerry 10 (BB10) devices. That's pretty remarkable when you consider that BB10 devices were only on the market for one of the three months the company is reporting on. None of this means BlackBerry is out of the water, but it's certainly staying afloat and can see land in the distance.
"We have implemented numerous changes at BlackBerry over the past year and those changes have resulted in the company returning to profitability in the fourth quarter," said Thorsten Heins, President and CEO. "With the launch of BlackBerry 10, we have introduced the newest and what we believe to be the most innovative mobile computing platform in the market today. Customers love the device and the user experience, and our teams and partners are now focused on getting those devices into the hands of BlackBerry consumer and enterprise customers."
Indeed, getting devices into the hands of consumers is key. To help do that, BlackBerry anticipates a 50 percent sequential increase in marketing spending.
Investors reacted positively to the news, as BlackBerry stock is currently trading at $15.08, up a little more than 3.5 percent since yesterday's close.
It wasn't a new attitude that ultimately lifted BlackBerry out of the red, at least for a quarter. For its fiscal year, BlackBerry recorded loss of $646 million, so there's still plenty of ground to make up. However, this is no longer RIM we're dealing with, it's BlackBerry, and along with the name change came a new attitude, a new platform, and a new product line.
BlackBerry said it shipped 6 million smartphones last year quarter, including 1 million BlackBerry 10 (BB10) devices. That's pretty remarkable when you consider that BB10 devices were only on the market for one of the three months the company is reporting on. None of this means BlackBerry is out of the water, but it's certainly staying afloat and can see land in the distance.
"We have implemented numerous changes at BlackBerry over the past year and those changes have resulted in the company returning to profitability in the fourth quarter," said Thorsten Heins, President and CEO. "With the launch of BlackBerry 10, we have introduced the newest and what we believe to be the most innovative mobile computing platform in the market today. Customers love the device and the user experience, and our teams and partners are now focused on getting those devices into the hands of BlackBerry consumer and enterprise customers."
Indeed, getting devices into the hands of consumers is key. To help do that, BlackBerry anticipates a 50 percent sequential increase in marketing spending.
Investors reacted positively to the news, as BlackBerry stock is currently trading at $15.08, up a little more than 3.5 percent since yesterday's close.
