SoftBank posts first quarterly loss in 18 months

TOKYO: Japan’s SoftBank Group on Monday logged its first quarterly net loss in 18 months on the falling value of investments in its Vision Fund, including Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing.

The telecoms-firm-turned-investment giant posted a net loss of 397.9 billion yen ($3.5 billion) in July-September, its first net loss since January-March 2020.

That dragged first-half net profit down 80.7 per cent on-year to 363.5 billion yen.

SoftBank Group has poured money into some of the tech world’s biggest names and hottest new ventures, from AI to biotech, through its $100 billion Vision Fund.

In total, the firm said its loss on investments during the quarter amounted to 1.66 trillion yen, including those incurred by its Vision Fund operations.

In the six months to September, SoftBank said it saw a loss worth 321 billion yen for DiDi Global, the parent of Didi Chuxing, which has been hit by Beijing’s tech crackdown.

Among other major investments, SoftBank said it lost 1.21 trillion yen in its stake in South Korean e-commerce firm Coupang.

The first-half sales rose 13.4 per cent to 2.98 trillion yen, while operating profit sagged 27.4 per cent to 1.05 trillion yen.