BlackBerry expects $500M tax refund within a year: report
by The Canadian Press
Common for companies with big losses to seek and receive tax refunds
TORONTO—The Globe and Mail is reporting that BlackBerry Ltd. expects to receive a US$500-million tax rebate within the next year, according to a recent report filed with regulators.
BlackBerry expects to receive the money by the end of next August, when the second quarter of the company’s 2015 financial year ends, the paper reported.
The Globe said it wasn’t clear whether the bulk of the tax refund would come from Canada, where the global smartphone company is based, or another jurisdiction.
It’s common for companies with big losses to seek and receive tax refunds.
Last week, BlackBerry booked a US$965-million loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, mostly due to a writedown of inventory.
More details on BlackBerry’s financial situation have come to light since it made a regulatory filing earlier this week.
Among other things, the documents indicate BlackBerry expects to book US$400-million in charges from a variety of factors before the end of May 2014.
Those expenses will cover costs associated with the previously announced layoffs of 4,500 employees, the reworking of its smartphone lineup and other changes to its manufacturing, sales and marketing operations, it said.
Earlier this year, BlackBerry said it would likely book $100-million in charges through its fiscal 2014 year, which ends on March 1.
But the company’s financial results have weakened, amid poor sales of its BlackBerry Z10 touchscreen phones, and the company is restructuring and looking for a buyer.
