BlackBerry (BB) said its fourth-quarter results for fiscal 2019 came in ahead of expectations as the company's shift into software and services bolstered revenue in the period.

Fourth-quarter fiscal 2019 revenue rose 8% year-on-year to $257 million on a non-GAAP basis, and was up 9% to $255 million on a GAAP basis. The consensus on Capital IQ was for revenue of $242.8 million. Earnings per share came in at $0.11 on an adjusted basis, better than the $0.06 expected by analysts.

"We delivered on all of our fiscal 2019 financial commitments and created a solid foundation for continue profitable revenue growth in fiscal 2020," said John Chen, chief executive of the company.

Shares in Waterloo, Canada-based BlackBerry were up 9.5% in pre-market trading.

In the three months ended Feb. 28, total non-GAAP software and services revenue jumped 14% year-on-year to $248 million, with a gross margin of 82%. Free cash flow was positive $20 million before the impact of acquisition and integration expenses, restructuring and legal proceedings.

BlackBerry completed its takeover of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity firm Cylance just before the quarter ended, saying the company's embeddable AI technology will accelerate development of its Spark secure communications platform for the Internet of Things.

"The combination of BlackBerry Cylance's lightweight AI and machine learning cybersecurity capabilities with BlackBerry Spark, our secure communications platform, will make our endpoint management and embedded software products stronger and more essential for enterprises to generate value from the Internet of Things," Chen said on Friday.

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