SoftBank Posts Record $12.7B Operating Loss In 2019-20 As Ambitious Tech Bets Fail To Deliver

SoftBank Group Corporation SFTBY reported its earnings for the entire financial year between April 2019 to March 2020 on Monday.

The Japanese investment firm said it made an operating loss of $12.7 billion in the year. This compares with the $19.3 billion operating profit it posted in the similar period a year ago.

SoftBank posted a loss per share of $4.53, compared to $5.86 earnings per share posted last year.

The majority of losses come from the group's Vision Fund, which was created to fund promising technology startups. The fund netted $17.7 billion in operating loss, negating the profits posted in other sectors.

A significant part of the Vision Fund losses came in the fourth quarter, as fair values of its portfolio companies, including Uber Technologies UBER and WeWork, decreased due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, SoftBank said.

The Masayoshi Son-led conglomerate said it took a loss of nearly $5.2 billion from its Uber investment and $4.6 billion from WeWork. Both companies had caused massive losses for SoftBank in the two quarters preceding the pandemic as well.

SoftBank, earlier in the day, announced it was looking to repurchase shares worth $4.7 billion by March 2021. The company is also reportedly looking to sell a significant portion of its stake in T-Mobile Us Inc. TMUS.

Its shares closed 1% lower at $21.16 in the otc market on Friday.