BlackBerry expects to get $500M tax refund within a year

A BlackBerry Z10 is held up during the global launch in Toronto on Jan. 30, 2013. (Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

TORONTO -- BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB) expects to receive a US$500-million tax rebate within the next year, according to a recent report filed with regulators.

The Waterloo, Ont.-based smarphone maker expects to receive the money by the end of next August, when the second quarter of the company's 2015 financial year ends.

The documents were not clear on 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 its 2014 financial year, 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 2014 financial 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.

On Friday morning, BlackBerry shares rose a penny to C$7.98 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.