BlackBerry first-quarter revenue beats expectations, shares rise

(Reuters) -Canadian security software supplier Blackberry Ltd beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Thursday, lifted by a rebound in demand for its QNX operating software and cybersecurity products.

U.S.-listed shares of the company were up 1.3% at $12.84 in extended trading.

Revenue fell to $174 million in the first quarter ended May 31 from $206 million a year earlier, but beat analysts' average estimate of $171.25 million, according to Refinitiv-IBES data.

Demand for cybersecurity services have been on the rise as businesses increasingly migrate to cloud-based computing to support remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A boom in electric-vehicle sales has also bolstered demand for BlackBerry's QNX software, primarily used in cars.

Net loss in the quarter narrowed to $62 million, or 11 cents per share, from $636 million, or $1.14 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company was also one of the "meme stocks" that received major attention from investors after a social-media driven retail short-squeeze frenzy. BlackBerry's shares are up over 90% so far this year.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)