BlackBerry's revenues dive in fourth quarter as chip deliver shortage puts force on core know-how

© offered via fiscal put up Blackberry Ltd. CEO John Chen.

BlackBerry Ltd.'s profits took a dive in the fourth quarter as one of the enterprise's core technologies, a automobile operating gadget software, endured convalescing from pandemic-connected automobile slowdowns.

Shares of the Waterloo-based mostly business fell well-nigh nine per cent in after-hours buying and selling on the new york inventory alternate to US$eight.53, following the company's earnings free up Tuesday evening.

Demand for semiconductors, which are utilized in digital motors and vehicle infotainment methods, has outpaced give, inflicting a world chip shortage. This put a strain on BlackBerry's proprietary QNX application, which is deployed in a hundred seventy five million cars on the road these days.

"It's no longer fully clear what the have an impact on could be on construction volumes," government chair and CEO John Chen instructed analysts on a call.

"despite the fact, we continue to look advancements from BTS within the upcoming fiscal 12 months," he said, referencing an arm of the company of which QNX makes up a large asset.

The chip provide scarcity has brought about mayhem for automakers. prevalent Motors introduced in the beginning of the month that it might extend downtime at three of its plant life as a minimum via March, with the Canada plant on pause except as a minimum mid-April.

Ford introduced chip-linked stoppages in creation, too, as did Toyota, Honda and Subaru — all of which deploy BlackBerry's QNX software. because of the scarcity, perception firm IHS Markit predicts the international automotive trade will lose US$60 billion in sales this 12 months.

total GAAP revenues in the fourth quarter, which resulted in February, fell 26 per cent 12 months over year, to US$210 million. The company, which facts its accounting in US dollars, did not meet analyst expectations of a regular of US$245.1 million, based on Yahoo Finance facts.

Non-GAAP profits-per-share fell inline with analyst expectations of US$0.03, meanwhile the company pronounced a GAAP internet-loss-per-share of US$0.fifty six.

BlackBerry's application and functions prong brought within the lion's share of revenues (US$a hundred sixty five million) whereas its licensing division introduced in exactly US$50 million.

Chen attributed this to a deal that's within the works to sell the business's patent licenses on mobile, messaging and instant. The CEO noted he couldn't expose a whole lot more assistance, aside from that the deal is with a North American birthday party and should be a sale of "a pretty big quantity."

"because the patent sale is being negotiated at the moment, (we) are unable to do other negotiating," Chen observed. "So the pipeline is in reality frozen."

Paul Steep, an analyst with Scotiabank, inquired on the call if the patent sale had the rest to do with BlackBerry's internet lack of US$315-million.

Chen talked about the patent deal become not intended to reduce spending, besides the fact that children the company is parting with a few of its true property.

"We decided to cut down our real property footprint with the aid of up to 25 per cent," he observed, with a view to influence in US$22 million again in hand.

BlackBerry's decision to cut back its actual house falls in line with other groups, similar to Shopify, closing up workplace house in put up-pandemic plans.

"we will have roughly 20 to 25 per cent of our crew contributors that may be working remotely on a permanent groundwork," Chen observed. "We decided we don't need to go one hundred per cent as a result of we are looking to hold a stage of creativity (within the office)."