Costcutting CEO returns BlackBerry to profit

The appointment of recovery specialist John Chen as Chief Executive has been credited with a surprise quarterly profit for smartphone maker BlackBerry.

Chen got the job in November following a poor 2013 and led the company in trying to return to its traditional pastures — corporate phones — while producing cheap phones for emerging markets.

Reducing overheads has played its part in the turnaround although Chen has been reported as saying the firm was nearing the “tail end” of its cost-cutting.