SoftBank Reports $7.7 Billion Quarterly Profit

SoftBank Group Corp (TYO:9984) reported a net profit of 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion) for the quarter ending in September. This marks a significant recovery compared to the 931 billion yen loss reported during the same period last year. The recently announced profit substantially exceeded analysts' forecasts of 287 billion yen ($1.87 billion) according to LSEG averages.

The improvement in the company's performance is attributed to rising stock prices of companies within the Vision Fund investment portfolios. The Vision Fund generated gains of 608 billion yen, contributing to profitability in four of the last five quarters.

Despite the positive result this quarter, SoftBank's investment journey has experienced ups and downs. Vision Fund 1 reported gross gains of $22.6 billion since its inception; however, these gains were nearly offset by a $21 billion loss from Vision Fund 2.

SoftBank's recent strategy reflects a more cautious investment approach, which appears to be yielding results. This shift followed the challenges faced by the company due to declining valuations of high-growth potential technology startups caused by rising interest rates. However, as some of these valuations begin to recover, SoftBank is starting to reap the benefits.

Additionally, during the quarter, the yen's recovery against the dollar resulted in a gain of 289 billion yen for the company, allowing it to benefit from the strengthened currency in managing dollar-denominated obligations.

At the end of the quarter, the exchange rate was 153.6400 yen per dollar.