SoftBank Corp cautioned net profit would not return to peak levels for three years, after booking declines in mobile revenue in its fiscal Q4 2022 (ending 31 March 2023).
On its earnings call, CFO Kazuhiko Fujihara said SoftBank does not expect profitability to reach the level it stood at before mobile service price reductions were introduced in 2021 until fiscal 2025.
SoftBank forecast fiscal 2023 net profit to decline to JPY420 billion ($3.1 billion), after a one-off gain from the acquisition associated with the conversion of PayPay Corp into a subsidiary boosted fiscal 2022 profit 2.8 per cent year-on-year to JPY531.4 billion.
Fujihara said the company continues to expect mobile revenue to bottom out and turn positive this fiscal year.
Net profit in fiscal Q4 2022 fell 76.1 per cent year to JPY22.8 billion, impacted by mobile price cuts and one-off factors a year earlier.
Consolidated revenue increased 3.3 per cent to JPY1.6 trillion.
Mobile service revenue fell 9.6 per cent to JPY358.3 billion and equipment 7 per cent JPY150.9 billion.
ARPU fell 5 per cent to JPY3,780.
Mobile subscribers increased 2.7 per cent to 39.6 million.
Broadband turnover declined 1.5 per cent to JPY98.9 billion and enterprise rose 6.7 per cent JPY199.4 billion.
Sales from its Yahoo Japan and Line segments were flat at JPY392.1 billion.
Noting its 5G deployment is largely completed, the operator plans to reduce capex over the next three fiscal years from JPY407.5 billion in fiscal 2022 to JPY330 billion annually.
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