BlackBerry beats quarterly revenue expectations on cybersecurity boost

FILE PHOTO - A Blackberry smartphone is displayed in this illustrative picture taken in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo - RTX2VWC6

Canada's BlackBerry Ltd beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue on Wednesday amid strong demand for its cybersecurity and Internet of Things software products.

U.S.-listed hares of the company were up 7.6% at $10.31 in extended trading.

Firms such as BlackBerry are benefiting from an uptick in demand for cybersecurity and IoT products as more businesses and government organizations shift their operations to the cloud in order to support hybrid working.

As a result, the company was able to offset weakness from sluggish demand for its QNX software from automakers like Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE, BMW BMWG.DE and Ford Motor F.N, as the auto industry struggled to keep up production amid a persistent chip shortage crisis.

Revenue fell to $175 million for the quarter ended Aug. 31, from $259 million a year earlier. Analysts on average expected $163.5 million in revenue, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net loss widened to $144 million, or 25 cents per share, from $23 million or 4 cents per share, a year earlier.