Shares of BlackBerry gained more than 5 percent Wednesday after the company posted better-than-expected results. It also announced the departure of its chief financial officer, James Yersh.
The telecommunications company said it broke even for the fiscal second-quarter on revenue of $352 million. Analysts expected a loss of 5 cents a share on revenue of $394 million, according to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates.
"We are reaching an inflection point with our strategy. Our financial foundation is strong, and our pivot to software is taking hold," John Chen, executive chairman and CEO of BlackBerry, said in a release.
"In Q2, we more than doubled our software revenue year over year and delivered the highest gross margin in the company's history. We also completed initial shipments of BlackBerry Radar, an end-to end asset tracking system, and signed a strategic licensing agreement to drive global growth in our BBM consumer business," he added.
BlackBerry also said Wednesday that Yersh is leaving for personal reasons and Steve Capelli would succeed him, effective Oct. 1. Capelli most recently was president of worldwide field operations at Sybase.
Chen said the company remains on track for 30 percent revenue growth in software and services for the full fiscal year. The company expects full-year earnings in the range of breakeven to a loss of 5 cents, compared to the current consensus for a 15 cent loss.
Even with Wednesday's gains, BlackBerry's stock is down more than 10 percent year to date.