Telco SoftBank sees stable profit, offering Son respite from virus

TOKYO: SoftBank Corp on Monday forecast operating profit for the current financial year at 920 billion yen ($8.6 billion), largely unchanged from a year earlier, as it continues to generate cash amid the coronavirus-induced economic downturn.

Japan’s third-largest wireless carrier is a vital source of funds for highly leveraged parent SoftBank Group Corp, which is set to post a record annual operating loss next week as Chief Executive Masayoshi Son’s tech investments curdle.

SoftBank Corp’s expectation of lacklustre profit growth reflects how demand driven by the shift to teleworking to slow the spread of the virus is being offset by a drop in traffic by mobile customers in the retail network.