BlackBerry’s results fell short of analysts’ estimates on lacklustre demand for its latest handset, dubbed the Priv. Total adjusted sales were US$487 million (A$634 million) in the fiscal fourth quarter compared with analysts’ average estimate of $561.8 million.
However on the back of its new emphasis on software, the company reported $527 million in software sales for the 2016 fiscal year, higher than the $500 million target it had set. And it’s forecasting software revenue growth of 30 percent in fiscal 2017.
CEO John Chen said the hardware side of the business would reach profitability by September with the help of a new handset and by selling apps, But he added that the Android-based Priv wasn’t selling as well as he’d hoped.
“People do like our Priv, but there’s a much more limited audience and that segment seems to be saturated at the moment,” Chen said on a conference call. “The number-one goal that the company has is to continue to ramp the software and services.”
