IANS | 13 Feb, 2020
Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group has seen its quarterly
profit being almost wiped out for a second straight quarter by losses at
its $100 billion Vision Fund focused on tech companies like Uber and
WeWork.
The poor results have dented investor confidence in founder Masayoshi Son's big bets on new start-ups.
Addressing
a news conference, Son said SoftBank had turned a corner while he also
acknowledged the anxiety caused to investors and also said he has been
forced to scale back a second Vision Fund.
"We have caused a lot
of concern," Son said, adding he needs to "give everyone a piece of
mind" to secure outside funds for Vision Fund 2.
The tech
conglomerate on Wednesday reported operating income of 2.59 billion yen
($23.6 million) for the three months ended in December, a plunge of 99%
compared to the same period a year earlier.
SoftBank founder and
CEO Masayoshi Son's closely watched $100 billion Vision Fund was the
biggest driver of those losses. The Vision Fund and a related fund
reported an operating loss of 225 billion yen ($2 billion) for the
quarter, blaming unrealized losses in WeWork and Uber for the hit.
