SoftBank ends loss streak after four quarters; posts $6.4B profit in Q3

Japanese investment major SoftBank Group posted a profit for the first time after four quarters at $6.6 billion (985.5 billion yen) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, against a loss of $5 billion (744.7 billion yen) in the same period a year ago.

The Masayoshi Son-led investment firm's net income saw a rebound to $6.37 billion (950 billion yen) and its net sales stood at $11.9 billion (1.77 trillion yen) in Q3 FY23.

Its tech investment arm, SoftBank Vision Fund (SVF), booked an investment profit of $4.04 billion (600.73 billion yen) in Q3 FY23 after it sold its shares in chip designer Arm. The British firm was acquired by SoftBank for $32 billion in 2016. In the year ended March 31 2023, the fund had posted a record $32 billion in losses.

While SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (SVF2) deployed $90 million in the latest quarter, SoftBank Vision Fund 1 (SVF1) did not make investments in the last nine months. Since its inception, SVF1 gained $16.7 billion while SVF2 lost $19 billion.

SoftBank said its SVF2 suffered unrealised losses to the tune of $1.16 billion as it had to write down the value of WeWork to zero yen after it declared bankruptcy. The US-based co-working startup was once valued at $47 billion.

SoftBank has made significant investments in India, deploying billions of dollars in Indian startups such as Paytm, Flipkart, Ola, and OYO, among others.

(This is a developing story and will be updated with more information.)