 rallied as much was 12 percent on Thursday, after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results.){kind=link}
Shares in BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) rallied as much was 12 percent on Thursday, after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results.
The company, which has recently undergone a rebranding as a software company, posted net income of $19 million (£14 million), following a loss of $372 million last year.
John Chen, chief executive said: “We achieved historical highs in total software and services revenue and gross margin, as well as the highest non-GAAP operating margin in over five years, reflecting our complete transformation to a software company.”
Prior to its rebranding, the smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry had continually struggled to compete with the monopolisation of the market by both the Apple iPhone (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Galaxy devices.
Despite dominating about a third of the smartphone market back at its high point in 2010, its presence had dipped to less than 1 percent in the U.S.
Initially, back in June, first quarter profits for 2017 suggested the company were feeling the strain of its transition into the software market, with disappointing figures affecting its recovery.
However, on Thursday, Mr Chen remained upbeat in light of the latest encouraging figures, expecting its software and services revenues to grow by 10 to 15 percent in the year to March.
In particular, the company benefited from its entry into the self-driving car market, with over 60 million cars already using BlackBerry’s software. In addition, the company has agreed deals with manufacturers like Ford to further develop the technology.
The move towards developing self-driving cars has been gaining momentum in recent years, with many major auto-mobile companies looking to expand their businesses into the expanding market.
This comes amid the news that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) (NYSE:TTM) are set to produce only electric or hybrid vehicles from 2020.
However, JLR Chief Executive Dr Ralf Speth remained unconvinced of the development of autonomous vehicles and lorries, commenting:
“In the UK, there are currently more than a quarter of a million lorry drivers. What happens to our society if these lose their jobs? Who pays for them? What happens to the social fabric of the country?”
Shares in Blackberry are currently up 12.75 percent as of 12.35PM (GMT).