Blackberry share price up on near return to profit

Blackberry has moved a step closer to profit today, posting a smaller than expected loss as it begins to the feel the effects of cost-cutting measures.

In early trading shares of the troubled smartphone maker gained 10 per cent on the news that pre-tax losses have been reduced from $557m in the previous quarter to $6m.

Bucking the trend in falling hardware revenue, the number of smartphones shipped grew to 1.6m from 1.3m in the previous quarter, but software and services still accounted for more than half of the companies revenue.

Blackberry boss John Chen said the performance put the company on track for hitting financial milestones in the future: “Over the past six months, we have focused on improving efficiency in all aspects of our operations to drive cost reductions and margin improvement. Looking forward, we are focusing on our growth plan to enable our return to profitability.”

The Canadian smartphone maker yesterday announced a tie up with Amazon which will bring its apps to Blackberry devices later this year.