A group of employees walk past a Research In Motion (RIM) sign in Waterloo, Ont., June 29, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dave Chidley
July 10, 2012 - 4:00 AM
WATERLOO, Ont. - Embattled BlackBerry smartphone maker Research in Motion is expected to face some heat from its shareholders at the company's annual meeting today.
For many of the investors, the meeting in Waterloo, Ont., will be the first time they will get to meet chief executive Thorsten Heins and other new faces.
Heins took over the top job in January, replacing co-CEOs, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis.
Shareholders will also have an opportunity to grill the company about its stock price, which has fallen to below $8 per share from more than $25 when the company held its meeting last year.
Investors are expecting to hear how the company plans to survive through the key sales period that runs from back-to-school season until holiday shopping.
The company has faced significant technical delays, which has pushed the launch for its new line of smartphones until early next year.
It's unlikely that there will be any surprises at the meeting, because all requests from shareholders for significant changes had to be submitted in advance.
RIM's stock price has been near-decade lows over the past week after announcing delays to its BlackBerry 10 operating system and new products.
The company is also laying off about 5,000 employees as it slashes costs across the organization to contend with faltering sales.
However, speculation has been growing that RIM's efforts are too little too late, and that the BlackBerry maker could ultimately be sold off.
In late May, the company said it had hired J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and RBC Capital Markets to evaluate various strategies, including potential partnerships and licensing.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012