The Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group reported a net profit of 328.9 billion yen ($2.11 billion) for the January–March quarter. This marked a sharp increase over the same period last year.
In February, Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto declared that the tech investment firm was returning to a “growth trajectory”. This outcome follows the firm’s reputation for erratic profits and large bets on technological start-ups.
While SoftBank’s founder and CEO, Masayoshi Son, has long discussed the possibilities of robots and artificial intelligence (AI), the company has not been a major player in the kind of generative AI models like ChatGPT that have attracted attention from investors and the general public.
The value of SoftBank’s most valuable asset, the British chip design company Arm Holdings, has increased. This is because of the prospect of an AI-driven future.
With Monday’s results, SoftBank has now turned a profit in two consecutive quarters, despite the fact that the company lost money overall in the year.
Following three quarters of profit, the Vision Fund investment business reported an investment loss of 57.5 billion yen.
In the fourth quarter, the group’s net profit increased from a 32 billion yen loss last year. This growth occurred as write-downs in the value of the Vision Fund private portfolio companies were offset by cash raised through SoftBank’s holding in Alibaba Group.
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