SoftBank Group reports $5.9 bn loss in Dec quarter

Japanese investment giant SoftBank Group has reported $5.9 billion net loss in its third quarter that ended December 31, 2022.
SoftBank JapanSoftBank said it lost around $5.5 billion in its signature Vision Funds alone during the October-December period, reflecting declines in the share prices of a wide range of portfolio companies.

SoftBank Group lost $10 billion in the previous quarter (July-September 2022).

SoftBank Group said the fair value of its current late-stage portfolio is now more than $37 billion.

For the first time in decades, Masayoshi Son, founder and chief executive of SoftBank Group, skipped the analysts’ call.

At December-end, SoftBank said the fair value of the $100 billion Vision Fund I was down 4.4 percent from a year earlier, according to The Financial Times. The valuation for investments in Vision Fund II was down 6.2 percent.

SoftBank said it’s taking a cautious approach to investing in the blockchain and crypto sector.

SoftBank in September announced to lay off at least 30 percent of employees at its loss-making Vision Fund.

In August, SoftBank Group revealed plans to sell nearly 242 million American depository receipts (ADRs) of Chinese behemoth Alibaba, which will help it gain 4.6 trillion yen ($34 billion) in pre-tax gain from the sale.

Investment bank Jefferies had predicted that SoftBank would need $40-45 billion of cash this year if it were to sustain.