RIM to eat $485m PlayBook charge

BlackBerry maker admits it must plough more cash into promotional activities for its disfavoured tablet

Research in Motion (RIM) is taking a $485m (£309m) charge relating to the valuation of its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet inventory in response to poor sales.

After selling just 150,000 PlayBooks in the third quarter, the Canadian manufacturer is hoping to boost sales by upping its promotional activities for the unloved device.

As a result, RIM announced it will record a pre-tax provision in its third quarter of fiscal 2012 of about $485m – or $360m after tax.

RIM co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis stressed that his firm is committed to the tablet market, which he described as still being "in its infancy".

The company claimed it had already seen a "significant increase" in demand for the PlayBook since it launched new promotions in the US and Canada. The promotion allows both consumers and enterprise customers to purchase a new tablet at the current promotional price, with the ability to upgrade to OS 2.0 at no extra charge when it goes live next February.

Lazaridis said: "Although a number of factors have led to the need for an inventory provision in the third quarter, we believe the PlayBook, which will be further enhanced with the upcoming PlayBook OS 2.0 software, is a compelling tablet for consumers that also offers unique security and manageability features for the enterprise."