Japan’s SoftBank posts third straight net loss of $1.46b

Japan’s SoftBank Group incurred a net loss of 227.6 billion yen ($1.46 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2024, marking its third consecutive year in the red, the NIKKEI Asia reported on Monday.

This comes as a surprise, as analysts had predicted a net profit of 27.7 billion yen.

The Japanese conglomerate’s losses continue to pile up after suffering net losses of 970.1 billion yen and 1.7 trillion yen in the previous two years, respectively.

The bulk of the losses stemmed from significant valuation declines in Alibaba shares. SoftBank booked a hefty 959.9 billion yen in realised and unrealsied losses on Alibaba, overshadowing a 371.1 billion yen gain on T-Mobile shares.

Additionally, SoftBank’s Vision Funds contributed 167.3 billion yen in investment losses.

It’s important to note that SoftBank has benefited from the recent boom in the tech sector. Arm Holdings, the UK chip designer in which SoftBank has a significant stake, has seen its stock price surge by 70 per cent since its IPO in September.

Arm is also reportedly developing an AI chip prototype with plans for mass production next year, furthering SoftBank’s focus on AI and semiconductors.

Furthermore, SoftBank recently led a $1.05 billion investment round in Wayve, a promising self-driving technology start-up.