The listing of SoftBank’s chip unit Arm Holdings was the largest global IPO last year. Its performance significantly boosted the Japanese tech investment group’s net income figure in the last quarter. The good news is SoftBank has other portfolio companies that should be able to produce positive surprises.
SoftBank’s net income of ¥950bn ($6.4bn) in the three months to December is its first profit in five quarters. It is also a significant turnaround from a ¥783bn loss in the same period a year earlier. Its Vision funds and LatAm funds achieved $4bn in investment gains for the quarter. That was enough to send SoftBank shares up 11 per cent on Thursday to their highest level in more than two years.
A 60 per cent gain in Arm shares from their November low was a big contributor. SoftBank owns about a 90 per cent stake in the UK chip designer, which now has a valuation of nearly $100bn. Arm shares were up another 24 per cent pre-market on Thursday.