TOKYO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- SoftBank Group Corp. said Thursday its group net profit for the fiscal year through March increased 35.8 percent to 1.41 trillion yen (12.8 billion U.S. dollars), owing to continued gains from investments through its Saudi-backed Vision Fund.
The Tokyo-based conglomerate said its operating profit jumped 80.5 percent from a year earlier to a record 2.35 trillion yen (21.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the recording year, based on a 4.8 percent uptick in sales of 9.60 trillion yen (87.3 billion U.S. dollars).
The telecommunications and internet behemoth opted not to announce a guidance for the full current fiscal year through March 2020, however.
Including the Vision Fund, launched in 2017 with more than 90 billion U.S. dollars in capital, SoftBank Group's fund management operations accounted for 1.26 trillion yen (11.4 billion U.S. dollars) of its 2.35 trillion yen operating profit, SoftBank Group Corp. said.
The Vision Fund invests in nearly 80 companies, and has attributed gains made by tech firms it has invested in, including Uber Technologies and Oyo Hotels & Homes.
The fund had previously reported gains and successfully offset losses from other investments, including those in WeWork Cos, Nvidia and chip designer ARM.
"The Vision Fund is the most important driver of our growth, contributing to a jump in group operating profit," SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son was quoted as telling a press briefing in Tokyo.
"I am confident we will report a group net profit of more than 1 trillion yen (9.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the current business year through March again. I feel the company has entered a new stage," Son said.
SoftBank Group has been successful in increasing its valuations for its tech-based investments and on the back of its solid earnings, and will seek as of next month to significantly increase its shareholders' dividends, it also announced Thursday.
