BlackBerry shares up 10% on the back of promising Q1

The BlackBerry turnaround strategy seems to be finally yielding results, with the beleaguered smartphone maker banking a net income of 23 million during the first quarter of 2015.

The company reportedly shifted 2.6 million smartphones in the three months to 31 May, with the firm recognising hardware revenue on 1.6 million of these.

In the previous quarter, it only acknowledged revenue on 1.3 million smartphones.

Overall, the company posted a loss of $60 million, which was markedly lower than analyst expectations, prompting a surge in share price to the tune of 10 per cent.

Gross margin was also up from 43 per cent in the previous quarter to 48 per cent, which the company seems to be taking as a sign its ongoing efforts to return to profitability are on track.

The firm has been hit hard in recent years by the likes of Apple and Samsung encroaching on its smartphone territory, while the BYOD trend has allowed both vendors to weaken its stronghold on the enterprise.

However, thanks to a senior management re-shuffle last year, and the company's decision to concentrate on services rather than devices, things seem to be looking up for BlackBerry.

Furthermore, it has also attempted to re-coup money by selling off its real estate and cutting jobs.

John Chen, executive chairman and CEO of BlackBerry, said: "Our performance in fiscal Q1 demonstrates that we are firmly on track to achieve important milestones, including our financial objectives and delivering a strong product portfolio.

"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."