BlackBerry Ltd’s struggling handset business is declining faster than the market or even its leadership could anticipate. The company reported fourth quarter revenue of $487 million during its earnings call this morning, substantially less than the $563 million average analyst forecast for the period. The picture grows even bleaker when comparing the figure with the $660 million that was posted the same time last year.

But while the news sent BlackBerry’s stock price spiralling down more than 8 percent, it’s not all doom and gloom for shareholders. In fact, the company’s bottom line is quite encouraging: Its gross earnings in the fourth quarter stood at $78 million, which amounts to a loss of just $0.03 per share after deductions compared to the $0.09 that Wall Street was expecting. Much of the credit goes to the Canadian firm’s software and professional services division, a relatively small but fast- growing revenue source that CEO John Chen is counting on to help offset the losses in its handset business.

The executive has been aggressively scaling the group to that end through a combination of acquisitions, most notably the purchase of Good Technology Inc. for $425 million, and internal growth initiatives. BlackBerry most recently announced the launch of a new security practice that will focus on helping organizations protect their employees’ end-points from hacking. Chen’s efforts paid off tremendously in the fourth quarter, with the software division reporting a more than 106 percent revenue increase.

But the unit still made only $157 million, less than one third of BlackBerry’s total sales during the period. As a result, the company has a long way to go until its top-line starts increasing again even if the group continues to grow at the current rate, which is far from certain given the fierce competition in the mobile device management market.

Image via Pixabay