SoftBank smashes forecasts with big Q2 profit

Japanese investment giant SoftBank smashed forecasts with results for its second fiscal quarter, as big gains in its tech investments helped it swing to a massive $7.7bn net profit.

The company posted a net profit of JPY1.18trn ($7.68bn) for the three months to 30 September, up from a net loss of JPY931bn in the second quarter of last year. Analysts had pencilled in a profit of around JPY200bn.

Net sales for the group rose 6% to JPY1.77trn, helped by investment gains of JPY2.65trn.

The company booked investment gains of JPY1.28trn through its investments in Alilbaba and T-Mobile, while its tech-focused Vision Fund – the largest tech-focused investment fund in the world – recorded a JPY600bn investment gain, with its holdings in ByteDance and Coupang both rising.

Vision Fund alone swung to a profit of JPY373bn from a loss of JPY259bn the year before.

SoftBank Group Corp's stock finished Tuesday's session down 1.1% at JPY9,409 despite the better-than-expected results, having gained more than 55% so far this year.