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Softbank's second half loss widens on investment declines

Softbank Corp, Japan's biggest Internet investor, said its loss in the fiscal second-half widened after it sold stakes in some of its earliest investments in dot-com start-ups so it could fund ongoing operations.

Billionaire Masayoshi Son's Tokyo-based holding company posted a loss of ?34.4 billion (US$268 million) in the six months ended March 31, compared with ?321 million a year ago. Sales in the second half rose 2 percent to ?222 billion.

Results for the second half were calculated by subtracting first-half figures from the full year. Softbank does not provide second half results to its shareholders.

For the full year, the company had a loss of ?88.7 billion, or ?263.53 a share, compared with net income of ?36.6 billion the previous year.

For the twelve months ended March 31, Softbank said it re- evaluated the value of its stakes in overseas Internet companies such as CNET Networks Inc and AGC, which markets and distributes telecommunications equipment in Brazil.

The company, which had a record first-half loss of ?54 billion, said it posted a special loss of ?118.4 billion because of the lower value of its investments. That contributed to a ?177.8 billion special loss for the full year, which included a one-time ?20 billion writeoff of goodwill.

Net debt is expected to reach ?200 billion at the end of May, narrowing from 232 billion at the end of March, the company said.

Softbank's shares fell ?64, or 3.2 percent, to ?1,911 before the earnings were released. They've declined almost 63 percent in the past year.
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