Softbank Group Corp reported quarterly profit that topped analysts’ estimates, as its US unit Sprint Corp faces an uncertain future after talks to merge the carrier with T-Mobile US Inc collapsed.
Operating profit was ￥396 billion (US$3.46 billion) in the period ended September, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement on Monday.
That is more than the ￥322 billion average of analysts’ projections compiled by Bloomberg. Sales came in at ￥2.23 trillion, matching predictions.
Photo: Bloomberg
Softbank founder Masayoshi Son has relied on a steady flow of cash from Japanese wireless and telecom operations to fund new endeavors, while Sprint has struggled to return to profit and stem subscriber losses. As merger talks with T-Mobile fell apart over control, Son needs to find a new way to secure Sprint’s long-term future.
The billionaire is also in the process of creating the US$100 billion Softbank Vision Fund with the Saudi Arabians, Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala Development Co and other backers to speed up investments in technology start-ups abroad. Son addressed questions about Sprint’s future and the Vision Fund at a briefing on Monday.
“The board decided that we could not agree to a merger of Sprint and T-Mobile that would result in the loss of control,” Son said at the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Sprint’s finances are improving, so therefore “it will be able to secure funding on its own,” he said.
Softbank’s shares, which are up 28 percent this year, fell 2.6 percent to close at ￥9,945 on Monday. The Japanese wireless operator has a market value of about ￥11 trillion, while its public shareholdings are worth about ￥17 trillion. Son has for years maintained that his company is undervalued, urging investors to see SoftBank as a “goose with more golden eggs in its belly.”
Softbank’s talks to merge Sprint with T-Mobile ended when Son had second thoughts about the sale after a meeting with his board a week earlier, people familiar with the matter have said.
Investors are poised to ask him tough questions about Sprint’s strategy for going forward alone in the US, and whether more money is to be needed.
Under Softbank’s control, Sprint has succeeded in halting a customer exodus, but progress came at a cost and the company has not had a profitable year in a decade. Holding onto subscribers would also require investments into network improvements that the fourth-largest US carrier might struggle to pay for. About half of Sprint’s US$38 billion in debt and obligations is coming due over the next four years and the Overland Park, Kansas-based company is also facing potentially costly investments into next-generation wireless technology.
“Investors are focusing on what Son has to say about the Sprint problem and Vision Fund investments,” Tokai Tokyo Securities analyst Masahiko Ishino said prior to the earnings release. “Son has also said the Vision Fund won’t end at US$100 billion, promising a second and third investment vehicle. More on that would be of great interest.”
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