Softbank, KDDI Log Record Net Profits in April-June

August 7, 2018

Tokyo- Major Japanese mobile phone carriers Softbank Group Corp. and KDDI Corp. logged record net profits in April-June, their earnings reports have shown.

The two firms also posted record consolidated sales and operating profits for the first quarter of their business year.

Softbank saw group operating profit surge 49.2 pct from a year earlier to 714,993 million yen on 4.0 pct higher sales of 2,272,783 million yen and net profit reach 313,687 million yen, up 57-fold.

The results reflected steady growth in the domestic telecommunications business, company officials said.

The firm's overall profit was also pushed up by latent profits of shares in companies receiving investment from a 10-trillion-yen fund Softbank set up with the Saudi Arabian government and others.

Softbank Chairman and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said that the effects of the fund on the company's earnings are "increasing day by day."

KDDI's operating profit increased by 2.6 pct to 288,862 million yen and net profit by 3 pct to 178,666 million yen. Sales came to 1,221,716 million yen, up 1.9 pct.

The company was able to rewrite record net and operating profits as well as sales thanks to robust earnings in businesses other than its mainstay "au" mobile communications operation, such as online shopping and payment services.

Operating profit at NTT Docomo Inc. grew 9.9 pct to 309,925 million yen on sales of 1,176,668 million yen, up 3.8 pct. Its net profit went up 9.2 pct to 218,318 million yen.

The company enjoyed steady bundle sales of mobile and fiber-optic fixed line services. It also saw increases in the number of subscribers to smartphone and tablet services.

Meanwhile, Softbank Corp., the mobile phone unit of Softbank Group, said Monday that it will revise its existing subscription terms conditioning basic fee discounts on the use of services for two years.

The contract renewal period, during which users will be able to cancel their subscriptions without having to pay a penalty, will be extended from the current two months to three months, it said.

KDDI and NTT Docomo have already announced similar moves, in line with the telecommunications ministry's administrative guidance. Jiji Press