SoftBank posts $11.8bn net profit in first quarter

Aug 11, 2020 | News On Japan

Aug 11, 2020 (Nikkei) - SoftBank Group on Tuesday reported a net profit of 1.25 trillion yen ($11.8 billion) in the April-June quarter thanks to the merger and sale of its stake in U.S. mobile carrier Sprint, marking a return to profit after suffering its worst ever loss in the previous quarter.

Better performance at SoftBank's near $100 billion Vision Fund also helped reverse the losses. The fund segment posted an investment gain of 296 billion yen, thanks to mostly unrealized gains in the value of its 86 portfolio companies. These include U.S. ride-sharing company Uber Technologies and biotech firm Vir Biotechnology.

SoftBank founder and chairman Masayoshi Son has shifted to a defensive strategy amid looming uncertainty caused by the new coronavirus pandemic.

In March, the company announced plans to sell $41 billion worth of assets over the next year. In June Son said it had already realized about 80% of the target by selling shares in T-Mobile and its Japanese mobile arm SoftBank Corp, as well as from using its stake in Alibaba Group Holding. SoftBank has used some of the proceeds to buy back its own shares.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.