Tech company BlackBerry Ltd (TSX:BB)(NYSE:BB) released its fourth-quarter and year-end results last week. For the three-month period ending Feb. 28, the company’s revenue totaled $151 million, which was down 11% year over year. BlackBerry CEO John Chen blames some of the poor performance on timing, saying that “As previously communicated, BlackBerry’s Cybersecurity business unit saw the timing of a number of large government deals slip into later quarters, but we are confident that they will close this fiscal year.”
Impairment losses related to goodwill and long-lived assets totaling $476 million weighed down the company’s results, resulting in a net loss of $495 million. In the same quarter last year, BlackBerry’s loss was a much more modest $4 million.
Not only was the bottom line bad, but the company’s operating cash flow wasn’t strong either. For the full fiscal year, BlackBerry used up $263 million over the course of its day-to-day operations, up from $28 million last year. The company finished the year with $426 million in cash and short-term investments. If BlackBerry’s cash burn doesn’t improve, it’s possible the company may need to resort to stock offerings to help raise money.
That can be particularly problematic for a stock that hasn’t been doing well as it is. Over the past 12 months, shares of BlackBerry are down around 50%. By comparison, the S&P 500 has declined by just 13%. The company has struggled with generating growth in recent years, and it could continue to be a tough year for the tech stock as there isn’t an overwhelming reason to be positive on BlackBerry given its recent performance.