BlackBerry Spikes After Strong Earnings And Software Sales

BlackBerry Ltd BBRY spiked 10 percent after posting a loss excluding certain items of $(0.03) a share for its third quarter, the company said Friday. BlackBerry noted strong software sales with continuing growth in its software segment, and forecasts positive free cash flow.

Shares traded recently at $8.60, up 10.2 percent.

The company is currently working toward a goal of $500 million in annual software revenue by March 2016.

Blackberry's latest revenue boost with its software is also significant to the company's shift in strategy. Reaching its goal is a key part of Chief Executive Officer John Chen's plan to transition the company away from being dependent on its shrinking handset sales.

"I am pleased with our continued progress on BlackBerry's strategic priorities, leading to 14 percent sequential growth in total revenue for Q3. We delivered accelerating growth in enterprise software and higher revenue across all of our areas of focus," Chen commented.

"BlackBerry has a solid financial foundation, and we are executing well. To sustain our current direction, we are stepping up investments to drive continued software growth and the additional PRIV launches. I anticipate this will result in sequential revenue growth in our software, hardware and messaging businesses in Q4," Chen said.

Blackberry's software sales were $161.5 million, up from $54 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the Waterloo, Ontario-based company was $557 million compared with projections for $488.8 million.