Research In Motion has more BlackBerry PlayBook devices on its shelves than it wants. The company has issued a statement saying it will “record a pre-tax provision in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 of approximately $485 million, $360 million after tax, related to its inventory valuation of BlackBerry PlayBook tablets”.
It says an increase in promotional activity is required to encourage sales, with changes in the tablet market and a delay in the release of PlayBook v2.0 software - now expected in February 2012 - being blamed.
Around 150,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets were sold into the retail channel in the third quarter of the current financial year.
Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO of Research In Motion, said “RIM is committed to the BlackBerry PlayBook and believes the tablet market is still in its infancy. 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. Early results from recent PlayBook promotions indicate a significant increase in demand across most channels. We look forward to continuing to grow the installed base of PlayBook users and to attracting more and more developers to expand the volume of applications, content and services that leverage the power of the industry leading QNX-based platform.”
Around 14.1 million BlackBerry smartphones are thought to have been shipped in the last quarter. A formal quarterly results statement is due on 15th December.