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BlackBerry Q1 better than expected as revenue mix shifts

BlackBerry's QNX unit fared well and the company IP licensing revenue was up from a year ago.
Written by Larry Dignan, Contributor

BlackBerry reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings and cited strength in its QNX embedded auto software.

The company reported a first quarter net loss of $60 million, or 11 cents a share, on revenue of $213 million, down from $235 million a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings for the first quarter were 3 cents a share.

Wall Street was expecting BlackBerry to report break even non-GAAP earnings on revenue of $209 million in the first quarter.

Software and services revenue for the first quarter was $189 million, up 18 percent from a year ago. The company is primarily focused on security, software and Internet of things applications notably connected auto. QNX is embedded in more than 120 million vehicles globally.

BlackBerry's revenue mix has shifted dramatically in the last year. Consider:

  • Enterprise software and services first quarter revenue was $79 million, down from $92 million a year ago.
  • BlackBerry Technology Solutions, a services unit, had revenue of $47 million, up from $36 million a year ago.
  • Licensing, IP and other revenue was $63 million, up from $32 million a year ago.
  • Handheld device revenue was $8 million, down from $38 million a year ago.

By region, 65.3 percent of BlackBerry's revenue came from North America with 24.4 percent from Europe, Middle East and Africa.

As for the outlook, BlackBerry said it will grow software and services billings at a double digit clip with positive non-GAAP earnings. Total software and services revenue growth will be between 8 percent and 10 percent from the previous year.

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