BlackBerry reported a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss on Thursday, as the smartphone company’s cost cutting and other initiatives started to pay off.<\/p>\n
Shares jumped 10% in trading before the bell after BlackBerry said its gross profit margin in the quarter rose to 46.7%, from 33.9% a year earlier.<\/p>\n
“The numbers certainly aren’t great, but they could have been much worse,” said Morningstar analyst Brian Colello.<\/p>\n
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company reported net income of $23 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a loss of $84 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Excluding a one-time non-cash accounting gain and certain restructuring charges, the loss was $60 million, or 11 cents a share. Analysts, on average, had expected a loss of 25 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.<\/p>\n
Quarterly revenue dropped to $966 million from $3.07 billion a year earlier.<\/p>\n
The company’s cash rose to $3.1 billion from $2.7 billion on a sequential basis, helped by gains from the sale of real estate assets and a tax refund.<\/p>\n
BlackBerry’s Nasdaq-listed shares rose 9.8% to $9.10 in premarket trading.<\/p>\n
BlackBerry offloads properties for $278 million<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n BlackBerry could exit handset business<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n