BlackBerry may hang up on smartphones

Article Excerpt

BLACKBERRY LTD. $9.21 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 521.2 million; Market cap: $4.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.blackberry.com) provides secure wireless communication services, mainly to businesses and government agencies. In the fiscal year ended February 29, 2016, BlackBerry’s revenue fell 35.2%, to $2.2 billion from $3.3 billion a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Smartphones supplied 40% of total revenue, followed by the fees it charges wireless carriers to access its networks (37%). The software it installs on its clients’ email servers contributed 23% of revenue. Without unusual items, the company lost $0.19 a share, compared to a profit of $0.08 in 2014. BlackBerry holds cash of $2.6 billion, or $5.03 a share. Its longterm debt of $1.3 billion is a manageable 27% of its market cap. The company continues to focus on expanding its security software operations. Thanks to…