Tech fund drives SoftBank Group profit up 36 per cent

Japan's SoftBank Group yesterday reported annual net profit jumped more than a third, helped by gains from its investment fund which has ploughed billions into some of the hottest names in the tech sector.

Net profits for the financial year ending March at the telecoms and investment group came in at 1.41 trillion yen ($12.8 billion), up 35.8 per cent. The company hailed gains of 1.26 trillion yen from its investment funds, led by SoftBank Vision Fund, estimated to have firepower of around $100 billion with heavy Saudi Arabian backing.

Under CEO Masayoshi Son's leadership, the SoftBank Vision Fund has embarked on a series of investments, one of the most recent being a $1 billion joint injection with Toyota into ridesharing giant Uber to develop driverless cars.

The value of SoftBank Group's stake in Uber gained 418 billion yen. The company did not offer any formal projections for the year to come but Son said he was confident net profit would top 1.0 trillion yen for the fourth consecutive year.

The fund has also ploughed $1.5 billion in fresh financing into Southeast Asian ride-hailing company Grab.

Tech fund drives SoftBank Group profit up 36 per cent

Japans SoftBank Group yesterday reported annual net profit jumped more than a third, helped by gains from its investment fund which has ploughed billions into some of the hottest names in the tech sector. Net profits for the financial year ending March at the telecoms and investment group came in at 1.41 trillion yen ($12.8 billion), up 35.8 per cent. The company hailed gains of 1.26 trillion yen from its investment funds, led by SoftBank Vision Fund, estimated to have firepower of around $100 billion with heavy Saudi Arabian backing. Under CEO Masayoshi Sons leadership, the SoftBank Vision Fund has embarked on a series of investments, one of the most recent being a $1 billion joint injection with Toyota into ridesharing giant Uber to develop driverless cars. The value of SoftBank Groups stake in Uber gained 418 billion yen. The company did not offer any formal projections for the year to come but Son said he was confident net profit would top 1.0 trillion yen for the fourth consecutive year. The fund has also ploughed $1.5 billion in fresh financing into Southeast Asian ride-hailing company Grab.