BlackBerry posts profit last quarter, shipped 1 million Z10s
This is the first financial report from BlackBerry before the company used to be known as RIM and the BlackBerry OS 10 devices were still coming soon. So, how did the revamped company do?
The previous quarter saw BlackBerry returning to profitability and this quarter solidifies the result with even more net income. Revenue for the quarter was $2.7 billion, 2% down from the previous quarter and 36% down from the year ago quarter.
Net income was $98 million, though, up from $9 million for the previous quarter and a $125 million loss for the same period of last year.
BlackBerry is reporting 6 million phones shipped over the last three months, with the new BlackBerry Z10 accounting for 1 million of them. CEO Thorsten Heins says that between two thirds and three quarters of that million were already sold to consumers.
The number of subscribers worldwide dropped from 79 million to 76 million, but Heins pointed out that most of the 3 million that dropped BlackBerry were using pre-paid devices.
Meanwhile, co-founder and former co-CEO Mike Lazaridis will be stepping down from his current position as Vice Chair and Director of the company effective May 1.
Thorsten and his team did an excellent job in completing BlackBerry 10. We have a great deal of which to be proud. I believe I am leaving the company in good hands. I remain a huge fan of BlackBerry and, of course, wish the company and its people well.
For the full fiscal year that ends March 2, BlackBerry's revenue was $11.1 billion, down 40% from the $18.4 billion of the previous fiscal year. The company reports a net loss of $628 million for the year compared to a net profit of $1.2 billion during the previous year.
You can get more numbers on BlackBerry's financial performance for the last quarter and the full fiscal year from the press release.