Announced in earnings report to investors; Priv slated for launch in late 2015
In an earnings report published on Sept. 25, BlackBerry announced a new Android smartphone called Priv, which is designed to emphasize security and productivity.
“We are focused on making faster progress to achieve profitability in our handset business,” BlackBerry CEO John Chen said. “Today, I am confirming our plans to launch Priv, an Android device named after Blackberry’s heritage and core mission of protecting our customers’ privacy. Priv combines the best of BlackBerry’s security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform.”
Chen said that the new smartphone, coupled with other initiatives, leads him to project “modest sequential revenue growth in each of the remaining quarters of fiscal 2016.”
Earlier in the month, BlackBerry doubled down on mobile security with its purchase of competitor Good Technology for $425 million.
Good specializes in enterprise mobile security solutions and mobile device management. The company says that 100% of the Fortune 100 banks and aerospace/defense firms use its technology. The purchase gives BlackBerry a security offering that is not tied to BlackBerry devices.
“I am confident in our strategy and continued progress, highlighted by our fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year double digit growth in software licensing revenue and sixth consecutive quarter of positive free cash flow,” Chen said.
“In order to expand our leadership in cross-platform software and services, we are investing strategically—organically through new products and services based on the BES platform, and through acquisitions like AtHoc and Good.”
BlackBerry reported non-GAAP software and services revenue of $74 million in Q3 of 2015, up 19% over the previous quarter.
Positive free cash flow came in at $100 million for the quarter; cash and investment balance was $3.35 billion at the end of the fiscal quarter, an increase of $37 million over Q1.
