April 1 (Reuters) - BlackBerry CEO tells CNBC that if he
can't get hardware unit to profitability by September will have
to seriously consider becoming a software-only company.
BlackBerry CEO says delays in contract negotiations,
including With U.S. Carrier Verizon BB.TO , slowed handset
distribution
* BlackBerry CEO john chen says has multiple growth engines
in software
* BlackBerry CEO says one area of shortfall was in hardware
revenue which declined from last quarter
* BlackBerry CEO says hardware volume shortfall was due to
delay in contract talks with some carriers on priv
* BlackBerry CEO says co had numerous software contract
wins in the latest quarter
* BlackBerry CEO says company did not generate any
intellectual property licensing revenue in the quarter
* BlackBerry says its model reflects a gross margin in the
mid to high 40s for the next quarter
* BlackBerry CFO says gross margin in q4 was 48.7 percent,
up from 44.9 percent in q3
* BlackBerry says expect to maintain positive free cash
flow and positive ebitda for fiscal 2017
* BlackBerry CEO says aims for recurring subscription
revenue to make up 80 percent of software revenue in fiscal 2017
* Range type of devices with good security for android
* BlackBerry CEO says people like the priv, but it is a ltd
market and top market segment quite saturated right now
* BlackBerry CEO says organic software growth, excluding
contribution from good technology acquisition, was 24 percent
* BlackBerry CEO says focusing more on enterprise sales
with carriers, less so on retail
* bbry.o CEO tells cnbc that if he can't get hardware
unit to profitability by september will have to seriously
consider becoming a software-only company
* CEO says in Q4 co made progress on all strategic
priorities
* BlackBerry CEO says device volumes were below company's
expectations
* , slowed handset distribution
* BlackBerry CEO says halved device operating loss in q4
compared to Q3
* BlackBerry CEO says working on building a base of
recurring ip revs
* BlackBerry cfo james yersh says recognized revenue on
roughly 600,000 handsets, average selling price about $315
* BlackBerry cfo says generating $6 million in free cash
flow in the quarter
* BlackBerry says path to profitability in device business
looks quite reasonable
* BlackBerry CEO , when asked about strategic importance of
hardware business, says priority is growing software and
services program
* BlackBerry CEO says needs to see growth & profitability
from hardware for co to stick with business
* BlackBerry CEO says now need 3 million unit sales to
breakeven in hardware, if asp stays around $300
Source text for Eikon: ID:nL2N1740GF
Further company coverage: BB.TO BBRY.O