SoftBank Group Profit Rises Nearly Five-Fold to 5 Trillion Yen

SoftBank Group Corp. reported Wednesday that profits for the fiscal year through March rose nearly five-fold from the previous year as its artificial intelligence investments delivered gains. The Tokyo-based company recorded an annual profit of 5 trillion yen, or about $32 billion.

That compares with 1.15 trillion yen in the prior fiscal year. Sales climbed nearly 8 percent on-year to nearly 7.8 trillion yen, or about $50 billion, from 7.2 trillion yen, the company said in a statement. Among its largest investments, the company has put $34.6 billion into OpenAI and recorded gains of $45 billion on that holding.

SoftBank also holds positions in U.S. AI company Nvidia, German mobile and internet provider Deutsche Telekom, and British semiconductor manufacturer Arm.

The company received an additional lift from the initial public offering of PayPay, a mobile-payment application in Japan that lets users make cashless payments using QR codes. Gains from holdings in Intel Corp. offset losses from its position in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Such mixed results are typical for the company, which oversees a range of businesses through its Vision Funds. SoftBank began investing early in technology compared with other Japanese companies. It also developed the humanoid robot Pepper. The company recently started a battery business in Japan to build next-generation electric power infrastructure in anticipation of growing electricity demand linked to artificial intelligence use.

SoftBank is working with Toppan, a Japanese printing, communications, security and packaging company, to develop lightweight, durable “skin” material for aircraft wings. The material is set to be used for commercial services in about three years. The company does not provide earnings forecasts.