SoftBank posts $6.6 billion profit, first in five quarters
The results mark a turnaround for the investment company, which has gone through a period of slashing investment activity and selling off assets.
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TOKYO :SoftBank Group on Thursday posted a net profit of 985.5 billion yen ($6.6 billion) in the October-December quarter, ending a streak of four consecutive quarters in the red, as the value of publicly listed investments gained ground.
The results mark a turnaround for the investment company, which has gone through a period of slashing investment activity and selling off assets.
Many of its investments in high-growth startups had fallen in value under the higher interest rate environment that followed the coronavirus pandemic.
Foreign investors pivoted to net selling of Asian equities in January, influenced by a reassessment of the cooling U.S. economy and anticipation of slower and later than expected rate cuts in 2024.
This change in investor behavior comes after two months of substantial buying in November and December 2023, with stock exchanges data showing a combined net sale of $779 million in India, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG, said these outflows were more indicative of strategic repositioning or profit-taking, rather than a fundamental shift in the broader risk environment.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific index shed about 1.7 per cent last month after having rallied a combined 13.4 per cent in the previous two months through December.
Indian equities faced the largest foreign outflow among regional peers, of about $3.1 billion on a net basis last month, compared with about $7.94 billion worth of net inflows in December.
"In India, we think FII selling was largely driven by some profit taking amid concerns around stretched absolute and relative valuations and weaker-than-expected results of some large cap names," said Chetan Seth, Asia-Pacific Equity Strategist at Nomura.
Cross-border investors also withdrew about $871 million from Thai equities after a marginal $5 million worth of net purchase a month ago.
In contrast, South Korean stocks secured foreign capital for a third successive month, worth about $2.26 billion, while Indonesian and Taiwanese stocks received $535 million and $267 million respectively.
Some analysts remained optimistic about the region's prospects, citing factors like the global chip cycle recovery and potential economic soft landing in the United States.
