March 29 (Reuters) - Canada's BlackBerry Ltd BB.TO reported a fourth-quarter profit on Friday compared with a year-ago loss, benefiting from a 71 percent rise in its licensing and IP revenue as it filed for more patents for its technologies.
Licensing and IP revenue, which also includes handing out licenses for BlackBerry's existing patents to other companies, rose to $99 million in the fourth quarter ended Feb. 28, from $58 million a year earlier.
The company, which dominated the smartphone market nearly a decade ago before losing out to Apple Inc's AAPL.O iPhones and Android devices, has been trying to win investor confidence and make money by selling software to manage mobile devices to corporations and government agencies.
BlackBerry's net profit was $51 million, or 8 cents per share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $10 million, or 6 cents per share, a year ago. rose to $255 million from $233 million.
U.S.-listed shares of the company BB.N rose 4.7 percent to $9.30 before the opening bell.