News
Japan-based telco reports fall in revenue due to currency effects.
Softbank on Monday reported a 3.5% increase in first half earnings, led by a strong performance at its domestic operation.
The Japan-based telco’s group operating income for the six months to 30 September came in at ¥653.94 billion (€5.66 billion), up from ¥631.92 billion a year earlier. The domestic business contributed ¥465.93 billion, compared to ¥425.96 billion in the first half of 2015.
Group revenue for the period declined to ¥4.27 trillion (€36.95 billion) from ¥4.28 trillion, as the yen’s appreciation against the dollar meant Softbank’s U.S. unit Sprint weighed on group revenue, offsetting growth at the domestic business and Yahoo Japan.
Revenue at the domestic arm increased 1.3% year-on-year to ¥1.55 trillion, driven by the uptake of Softbank’s Hikari fibre broadband service, making up for a decrease in mobile revenue due to discounting and a decline in PHS subscribers.
The domestic division ended September with 32.3 million mobile customers, compared to 32.04 million a year ago. Its fixed broadband base grew to 5.6 million from 5.08 million, led by the aforementioned uptake of the Hikari fibre service, which offset declines at the Yahoo broadband and ADSL businesses.
As previously reported, Sprint’s finances are improving, with net sales for the six months to 30 September increasing 1.6% in dollar terms to $16.26 billion.
However, the yen’s appreciation against the dollar meant that Sprint’s yen net sales were down 11.5% year-on-year to ¥1.72 trillion. Operating income surged to ¥104.57 billion from ¥81.39 billion, driven by revenue improvements and Sprint’s aggressive cost-reduction programme.
Softbank declined to provide an outlook for the rest of the year, saying in a statement that it is "difficult to provide forecasts…due to a large number of uncertain factors affecting the earnings. The company will announce its forecasts on the consolidated results of operations when it becomes possible to make a rational projection."
