Softbank's annual net profit surges to record high

TOKYO - Softbank Corp.'s net profit nearly quadrupled to a record high last fiscal year on the strength of its rapidly expanding mobile business, the technology and Internet company said Thursday.

Softbank, which outpaced rivals in signing up new mobile phone subscribers, reported a group net profit of 108.62 billion yen ($1 billion; 650 million euros) for the fiscal year through March, compared with profit of 28.82 billion yen the previous year.

It booked a 19.6 percent gain in operating profit to 324.29 billion yen ($3.11 billion; euro2.0 billion) and a 9.1 percent rise in revenue to 2.776 trillion yen ($26.6 billion; euro17.24 billion).

A bulk of the earnings surge stemmed from a one-time gain of 57 billion yen ($550 million; euro360 million) it received from the listing of affiliate Alibaba.com Ltd. in Hong Kong.

Softbank, Japan's third largest cellular operator by users, added almost 2.7 million subscribers in the past year, expanding its customer base by about 17 percent.

When Softbank bought its mobile operations for 1.75 trillion yen in 2006, the unit had been struggling under former owner Vodafone Group PLC and analysts criticized the company for taking on debt to fund the purchase.

Founded in 1981 by President Masayoshi Son, Softbank's holdings also include a majority stake in Yahoo Japan Corp.

The company did not release an earnings forecast for the current fiscal year.

Softbank reported earnings after the market closed. Its shares fell 3.3 percent to 2,040 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in a broad market decline.

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