Japan-based mobile operator SoftBank reported steady growth in mobile revenue in its fiscal Q1 as it added subscribers and saw ARPU increase modestly.

In the April to June quarter, mobile service revenue grew 5.7 per cent to JPY423 billion ($3.9 billion), which the company said was mainly due to a decrease in monthly discounts and an increase in subscribers to unbundled plans for heavy data users. Equipment sales fell 5 per cent to JPY140 billion, while broadband turnover was up 8.2 per cent to JPY95 billion.

Its smartphone subscriber base increased 8.3 per cent year-on-year to 22.5 million at end-June. Total ARPU rose by JPY120 from a year earlier to JPY4,450.

SoftBank, which in July announced it will share infrastructure with rival KDDI to accelerate build-out of 5G networks in rural areas, highlighted the capex benefits of sharing base stations. The two operators plan trials in late calendar Q3.

To diversify into non-telecoms businesses, the domestic telecoms arm of SoftBank Group made Yahoo Japan a consolidated subsidiary in June after increasing its stake. The unit’s revenue increased 3.3 per cent year-on-year to JPY239 billion.

Net income attributed to owners of the company edged up 2.1 per cent year-on-year in the April to June period to JPY165 billion, with consolidated revenue increasing 5.8 per cent to JPY1.16 trillion.

Despite pressure from the government to reduce early termination fees for mobile contracts and the entry of a fourth mobile player in October, for its fiscal year ending 31 March 2020 SoftBank forecast overall revenue to increase 3.1 per cent to JPY4.8 trillion and net profit to grow 3.8 per cent to JPY480 billion.