BlackBerry continues to play the role of Jekyll and Hyde in the smartphone market. In its latest quarterly earnings report, there is some room for optimism: it shipped 6.8 million smartphones, up from 6 million over the last quarter. Revenues were up to $3.1 billion, about $400 million more the the previous quarter. These are decent results, showing positive momentum for the once powerful company in two successive quarters.
On the other hand, BlackBerry posted a quarterly loss of $84 million. It is a return to the red for BlackBerry, which had finally climbed out of its long nightmare last quarter and posted a profit for the first time in years at $94 million. Revenue breakdown for BlackBerry was 71% for hardware, 26% for service and 3% for software and other revenue.
See also: BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins: Maybe Not A Patsy After All
The hardware percentage is a positive sign for BlackBerry. Last quarter, revenue was split 61% for hardware and 36% for services. Being that BlackBerry is a smartphone manufacturer, it shows a rising, healthier core to the business.
The company is pushing its new line of BlackBerry 10 devices into market such as the full-touch Z10 and the physical keyboard Q10. BlackBerry also announced a budget-friendly Q5 device at its developers conference in May, aimed at emerging markets.
BlackBerry did not release specific sales numbers of BlackBerry 10 devices in its report, but CEO Thorsten Heins said it shipped 2.7 million such devices in the quarter. Last quarter, the company shipped one million BlackBerry 10 in limited availability. The Q10 has been said to be performing well in certain markets across the globe, such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
BlackBerry still has a tough row to hoe going forward. In its earnings statement, BlackBerry said it does not predict it will be profitable next quarter as it makes investments on pushing out new smartphones and entering new markets. The company is rumored to be developing an all-touch high end device geared towards dropping in the fall called the BlackBerry A10.