BlackBerry quarterly results beat estimates on software strength

Canadian software maker BlackBerry Ltd. reported quarterly revenue and profit that topped analysts' estimates, driven by strong growth in its high-margin software and services business.
US-listed shares of BlackBerry rose 2.6 per cent to $11.89 in premarket trading, reports Reuters.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said revenue from its enterprise software and services business rose 18 per cent to $189 million in the first quarter.
Blackberry has been trying to win investor confidence and make money by selling software to manage mobile devices to corporations and government agencies.
The company dominated the smartphone market nearly a decade ago before losing out to Apple Inc's iPhones and Android devices.
As part of the transition, the company is focusing on making software for next-generation driverless cars based on its QNX platform.
"I am pleased that BlackBerry QNX software is now embedded in over 120 million automobiles worldwide," Chief Executive Officer John Chen said in a statement.
The BlackBerry QNX software install base has in the last three years, the statement said.
The company's net loss was $60 million, or 11 cents per share, for the first quarter ended May 31.
It posted a profit of $671 million, or $1.23 per share, a year earlier.
BlackBerry received a one-time arbitration payment of $940 million from Qualcomm Inc in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding items, the company earned three cents per share.
Analysts were expecting the company to break even on a per share basis, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Total revenue fell 9.4 per cent to $213 million, but still beat analysts' estimate of $208 million.