SoftBank bounced back from a historic loss to post a $12bn quarterly profit as a global tech rally lifted high-profile Vision Fund investments including Uber and Slack.
The recovery caps one of the most tumultuous periods for the Japanese technology conglomerate founded by Masayoshi Son. Three consecutive quarters of operating losses forced SoftBank to earlier this year embark on a $41bn asset sale programme to fund share buybacks and reduce debt against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.
For the April to June quarter, SoftBank reported a net profit of ¥1.25tn ($12bn) compared with a net loss of ¥1.4tn in the previous quarter. That was above analysts’ forecasts for a net profit of ¥750bn, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Profits were also boosted by the partial sale of its stake in the newly combined mobile company consisting of its US unit Sprint and larger rival T-Mobile.