Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has seen its net profits soar by a whopping 50%. The company is attributing its success to its high-tech investment fund. Net profits proliferated by 51.6% from 2017, with the software leader accumulating an incredible 1.5 trillion yen ($13.7bn) in just twelve months.
Fiscal experts say the financial results clearly indicate that the Japanese tech behemoth is now yielding positive returns from its investment fund which is spearheaded by SoftBank Vision Fund. Its partners include Saudi Arabia which is the world’s biggest exporter of oil.
However, the company was subjected to intense scrutiny and criticism because of its close ties with Saudi Arabia following the barbaric murder of a journalist at its Istanbul consulate.
SoftBank Corp, the mobile carrier arm of the technology conglomerate, announced that its net profit has increased by almost 19 percent for the nine months to December, buoyed by a gain in subscribers.
It was the first earnings announcement since its disappointing stock market debut in December. It’s highly-anticipated IPO didn’t take off as projected on the New York Stock Exchange.
Under tycoon CEO Masayoshi Son, SoftBank, which started as a software firm, has increasingly been seen as an investment firm, ploughing funds into a broad range of companies and projects outside its core business.
In recent years, it has completed some mega deals with the likes of French robotics firm Aldebaran and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
It has also made a number of high-profile investments in the autonomous vehicles sector, and recently announced a tie-up deal with car giant Toyota for new mobility services such as meal deliveries.
