Japanese communications provider Softbank posted a net income of JPY 426.7 billion for the first half ended 30 September, a decrease of 22 percent year-on-year. The company recorded an impairment charge of JPY 33.2 billion in the period to write down the value of its stake in Trikomsel, an Indonesian company undergoing debt restructuring. Softbank's net sales amounted to JPY 4.42 trillion in H1, up 10 percent from JPY 4.02 billion a year earlier, and EBITDA increased 22 percent to JPY 1.32 trillion. Revenue growth was helped by the weaker yen versus the US dollar, as well as underlying growth at the Japanese activities. Free cash flow jumped to JPY 180 billion from JPY 68 billion a year ago, helped by a slowdown in capital expenditure.
The Sprint segment’s net sales amounted to JPY 1.8 trillion, up 5.3 percent year-on-year. The main reason for the increase was the yen’s year-on-year depreciation against the US dollar, while the dollar-based net sales decreased year-on-year, the company said. The Sprint platform had 57.86 million subscribers as of the end of the second quarter, an increase of 1.73 million from the end of the previous fiscal year. The US operator remained in the red with a net loss of USD 605 million in the first half, due mainly to interest expenses. Softbank said it's targeting at least USD 2 billion in annual costs savings at Sprint in FY 2016 and beyond in order to improve profitability at the company. This will lead to UD 1.0-1.2 billion in one-time charges in the second half of the fiscal year.
The number of mobile subscribers at Softbank in Japan as of 30 September 2015 stood at 31.6 million, an increase of 59,000 from the previous fiscal year-end. Net additions in smartphones and tablets during the period were partially offset by a net loss in feature phones. The number of subscribers for broadband services stood at 4.60 million, an increase of 245,000 from the previous fiscal year-end. The increase includes a growth of 596,000 subscribers to SoftBank Hikari, while subscribers to Yahoo! BB hikari with Flet’s and Yahoo! BB ADSL13 decreased by 237,000 and 114,000, respectively.
