TOKYO: Japanese giant SoftBank Group suffered an operating loss of $6.4 billion in the second quarter, it said Wednesday, as investments in start-ups such as WeWork and Uber took a massive hit.
In the three-month period ending September 30, operating losses hit a whopping ¥704.4 billion ($6.4 billion).
The firm said first-half operating losses from its Vision Fund and Delta Fund came to ¥572.6 billion, largely “due to a decrease in the fair values of investments including Uber and WeWork and its three affiliates.”
Net profit in the six months to September sank 49.8 percent to ¥421.6 billion on an operating loss of ¥15.6 billion.
The company did not publish its outlook for the year to March 2020, but uncertain roads lie ahead as shares in its key investments like Uber and Slack continue to slide.
SoftBank’s flamboyant founder Masayoshi Son has faced renewed scrutiny of his investment acumen in the wake of WeWork’s dramatic fall from grace.
Last month, SoftBank confirmed that it was injecting billions of dollars into WeWork, once hailed as a shining unicorn valued at $47 billion at the start of the year.
The start-up has gone from an investor darling to canceling its IPO and seeing its co-founder Adam Neumann pushed out, albeit with a reported package of more than $1.5 billion.
SoftBank Group profit plunges owing to WeWork turmoil
SoftBank Group profit plunges owing to WeWork turmoil
- In the three-month period ending September 30, operating losses hit a whopping ¥704.4 billion
Saudi Arabia’s economy expands by 4.8% in Q3: GASTAT
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product expanded by 4.8 percent in the third quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2024, driven by growth in both oil and non-hydrocarbon sectors, official data showed.
According to estimates by the General Authority for Statistics, oil activities in the Kingdom advanced by 8.3 percent year on year in the third quarter, while the non-oil sector recorded a growth rate of 4.3 percent during the same period.
Government activities also expanded by 1.4 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
The strong performance underscores progress under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to diversify the economy and reduce reliance on crude revenues.
“The main driver of growth in real GDP was non-oil activities, which contributed 2.4 percentage points. Oil activities contributed 2 percentage points. Net taxes on products and government activities contributed 0.2 percentage points each,” said GASTAT.
All economic activities recorded positive annual growth. Petroleum refining achieved the highest rate in the third quarter, rising 11.9 percent year on year, followed by crude petroleum and natural gas activities at 7.3 percent, and electricity, gas and water activities at 6.4 percent.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, Saudi Arabia’s GDP expanded by 1.4 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous three months.
Oil activities grew by 3.3 percent quarter on quarter, while government activities and non-oil activities advanced by 1 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.
Regarding the trade balance, exports increased 18.4 percent year on year in the third quarter and 7.5 percent quarter on quarter.
Imports rose by 4.3 percent compared to the same period last year, although inbound shipments were down 1.2 percent from the previous quarter.
Earlier this month, the World Bank upgraded its 2025 economic growth forecast for Saudi Arabia to 3.8 percent, up from its earlier estimate of 3.2 percent, citing renewed momentum in both oil and non-oil sectors.
In October, the International Monetary Fund also raised its economic growth forecast for the Kingdom to 4 percent for both 2025 and 2026.
