BlackBerry misses first quarter street forecast

BlackBerry Limited reported worse-than-expected first-quarter financial results as phone sales continued their long slide, but software revenue increased as the company turns its focus away from hardware.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said it lost of 10 cents per share. After adjustments, it lost five cents per share. Meanwhile, revenue fell about 32 per cent to US$658 million.

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations, with the average estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expecting a loss of four cents per share. Eleven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected US$684.5 million in revenue.

The company, once known for its smartphones, has been trying to refocus on software.

During the quarter, it completed its acquisition of WatchDox, a provider of secure enterprise file-sync-and-share technology. On Tuesday, it also announced a long-term patent cross-licensing deal with Cisco Systems Inc. Terms of that deal were not disclosed.

Software and technology-licensing revenue more than doubled during the quarter to US$137 million.

US shares of the Canadian company jumped 54 cents, or 5.7 per cent, to US$9.69 in premarket trading. BlackBerry shares have declined 16 per cent since the beginning of the year.