BlackBerry has sold around one million of the new Z10 smartphones it hopes will help restore the firm to the top table in mobile technology.
The handset’s performance is widely seen as being key to the company’s fortunes after a difficult couple of years when the firm lost ground and customers to rivals including Apple and Samsung.
The mobile giant announced a return to profitability in the most recent quarter and posted earnings of 98 million US dollars (£65 million) after recording a substantial loss in the same period last year.
Its president and chief executive Thorsten Heins said customers “love” the new device which was launched in January with the motto “redesigned, re-engineered, re-invented”.
“We have implemented numerous changes at BlackBerry over the past year and those changes have resulted in the company returning to profitability in the fourth quarter,” Mr Heins said.
“With the launch of BlackBerry 10, we have introduced the newest and what we believe to be the most innovative mobile computing platform in the market today.”
He said the company would remain focused on improving its profitability and efficiency while driving innovation in the next fiscal year.
“We have built an engine that is able to drive improved financial performance at lower volumes, which should allow us to generate additional benefits from higher volumes in the future,” he added.
The one million Z10 phones sold bettered analysts’ expectations of about 915,000. When the Z10 touchscreen device was unveiled, Mr Heins welcomed a “new day in the history of BlackBerry” following what he termed the most challenging year of his career.
The firm’s market share fell from 41% in 2007, when the first iPhone came out, to 4% in the first quarter of last year.
Source : Orange