BlackBerry misses Q4 revenue estimates, cybersecurity unit growth flat

The Blackberry sign is pictured in Waterloo June 19, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

March 31 (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd (BB.TO) reported fourth-quarter revenue on Thursday that missed analysts' estimates as growth at its cybersecurity business, its biggest, was flat due to increased competition.

U.S.-listed shares of the Canadian security-software provider and former mobile phone-maker dropped 5% in extended trading.

BlackBerry has been losing ground to larger competitors like Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and IBM (IBM.N) for cybersecurity solutions, while sales are further stressed by a slowdown in automotive production due to components shortage.

Chief Executive Officer John Chen on a conference call said the slowdown in automobile sector, a major customer segment for its Internet of Things (IoT) unit, is expected to persist.

"Although they (automobile makers) expected the situation to largely improve as the year progresses."

During the reported quarter, performance in cybersecurity was partially offset by higher sales and margin improvements in the IoT unit, which helped nudge BlackBerry's bottomline into the green territory.

The company's net income for the quarter ended Feb. 28 stood at $144 million. It posted a net loss of $315 million a year ago.

Excluding items, the company earned earned 1 cent per share, compared with analysts' estimate of a loss of 4 cents per share.

Revenue fell to $185 million from $210 million a year earlier. Analysts, on average, were expecting $186.8 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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