Japan’s SoftBank back in the black as investments improve

Tokyo-based company reported a 627 billion yen, or about $6.1 billion, profit in July-September, compared with a loss of 700 billion yen in the same quarter of 2019

Tokyo: Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. said Monday it restored its profitability in the last quarter as its investments improved in value. The Tokyo-based company reported a 627 billion yen, or about $6.1 billion, profit in July-September, compared with a loss of 700 billion yen in the same quarter of 2019.

SoftBank said its quarterly sales rose nearly 5 per cent to 1.35 trillion yen, or $13 billion, from 1.29 trillion yen. SoftBank’s Vision Fund also has become profitable recently.

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SoftBank, which invests in an array of companies, has sold US carrier Sprint, as well as British IoT company Arm. It has also sold some its stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba to raise cash for more investments.

Sprint merged with T-Mobile in April, which means Sprint is no longer part of SoftBank’s group or earnings. The company’s chief executive, Masayoshi Son, has described hardships from the coronavirus pandemic to those of the Great Depression.

But the crisis has proven to be a plus for some technology companies as people stuck at home gear up to work remotely and shop online. Some startups SoftBank has banked on have played out better than others.

Office-sharing company WeWork slammed earnings last year. But SoftBank still has hopes for WeWork’s potential in some markets such as Japan, where interest remains even with the pandemic. SoftBank also has investments in Yahoo! Japan and the Pepper companion robot, and in its SoftBank mobile carrier in Japan, the first to offer the iPhone in Japan.