BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB)(NASDAQ:BBRY) reported quarterly results on September 25, and while the company missed analyst’s expectations, there is still plenty of positives to take from the announcement.
The company posted a worse-than-expected loss of 13 cents per share, and revenue that was expected to come in at over $600 million was only $491 million.
The software division did realize a nearly 20% increase in revenue over the same quarter last year to $74 million, and secured a number of large companies as clients: Airbus SAS, Peugeot, and LG Electronics Inc. to name just a few.
The handset business, on the other hand, is still struggling. The company recognized hardware revenue on over 800,000 smartphones in the quarter with an average selling price of $240—roughly 40% of all revenues. This is down from the previous quarter, when the figure was 1.1 million devices.
While the company posted a loss, there is still considerable upside to the company that is often overlooked. BlackBerry under Chen is a completely different company—one that is transitioning from a device-first to a software-first company. This is a key differentiator and one of the reasons why device sales were as low as they were for the quarter; the company is just not releasing new devices the way that it used to, but it will be releasing a much-anticipated device in the next few months, the Priv.
The BlackBerry Priv is running Android
There are many reasons why the hardware division cannot compete with other smartphone manufacturers, but the two main factors are the usage of older internal components that consumers are not willing to pay a premium for, and the lack of apps in BlackBerry’s BB10 ecosystem.
The Priv, which was announced alongside the quarterly results, represents BlackBerry’s first foray into releasing a true Android device. Previous BB10 devices had an Android run-time, which allowed some applications to run alongside the company’s BB10 operating system, but this will be a true, full Android device, with some BlackBerry extras, lending to the use of the name “Priv”, which the company touted as being short for the values the companies strives to put in all devices: privacy and privilege.
BlackBerry stated that the Priv will be a secure Android phone, something Android users—many of which are former BlackBerry users—have always wanted, but could not get prior to this release.
The device runs on components that are far more advanced than other BlackBerry devices, and by running a full version of Android, the device will have full access to all applications, effectively removing both of the issues that plagued previous device releases. This has caused many former users of BlackBerry to look at this device as a legitimate option. The device is slated to be released this fall in time for Christmas.
While the company did post lower-than-expected results, there are still a lot of positives that make BlackBerry a great option for your portfolio.
BlackBerry is a completely different company in a state of transition. This should be taken into consideration when comparing results of prior quarters, but often isn’t. The acquisition of Good Technology earlier this quarter will bring a significant boost to revenues, as will additional service revenue the company has lined up. The new device, when released, will further add to the bottom line.
In my opinion, BlackBerry is a great investment for the long run and can be purchased for an absolute bargain price at the moment.
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Fool contributor Demetris Afxentiou has no position in any stocks mentioned.
BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB)(NASDAQ:BBRY) reported quarterly results on September 25, and while the company missed analyst’s expectations, there is still plenty of positives to take from the announcement.
The company posted a worse-than-expected loss of 13 cents per share, and revenue that was expected to come in at over $600 million was only $491 million.
The software division did realize a nearly 20% increase in revenue over the same quarter last year to $74 million, and secured a number of large companies as clients: Airbus SAS, Peugeot, and LG Electronics Inc. to name just a few.
The handset business, on the other hand,…
