TOKYO - Softbank Corp., the only Japanese mobile carrier offering the iPhone hit, said annual profit nearly doubled despite the damage caused by the earthquake on March 11 and the tsunami that battered northeastern of the Japan.
SoftBank, which did not break the quarterly figures, said Monday that profits for the year ended March 31 grow 189.71 billion yen ($2.37 billion) of 96.72 billion yen the previous year.
He said that the increase is explained by a business booming Smartphone special loss of 14 billion yen (175 million dollars) caused by disasters.
These losses were to establish networks of telecommunications and equipment destroyed by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that followed, and the offer of free services to those in the disaster area whose mobile phones were operation for any period, according to Softbank.
The conglomerate of Internet and communication based in Tokyo said sales for the fiscal year rose by nearly 9% to a company record 3 billion yen ($37.5 billion) of 2.76 billion yen.
Separately, Softbank said that he had invested Gilt Groupe Inc., which operates an online shopping service, offering clothing fashion of $ 62.5 million. SoftBank has also agreed to acquire 50% of the subsidiary to the Gilt Group Japan, to accelerate its expansion to the Japan, he said.
SoftBank, long the loser in the Japan telecommunications industry, has seen his fortune to improve in recent years with the popularity of the iPhone and iPad from Apple Inc..
Its founder and President Masayoshi Son, often hailed as Bill Gates of Japan for having pushed the Internet companies, has been categorical in criticism of recent handling of the Government of the crisis of nuclear reactor that was caused by the tsunami.
Son, which owns 21 percent of Softbank Corp., donated 10 billion yen (125 million dollars) towards the disaster effort, in addition to the 1 billion yen ($12.5 million) given by the Softbank group.
"We want to be the kind of company that is appreciated by society", he said at a press conference.
Son said sales results show that SoftBank is growing in the mobile enterprise at a time where its two main rivals in the Japan, NTT DoCoMo and KDDI Corp. strugggling grow. SoftBank mobile users had increased from 15 million in 2005 to 25.4 million today, said son.
"Our numbers were all good", he said earnings results.
Son said SoftBank was obtained on the damage to its bottom line of the massive investments in broadband, what he did six or seven years ago.
But he promised to make investments key in response to complaints that Softbank Mobile phones had poor connections, rather than hunting the immediate profit growth.
He said that the company will invest 500 billion yen ($6.25 billion) this year in equipment and another 500 billion yen ($6.25 billion) by 2012. SoftBank invested 420 billion yen ($5.25) last year, he said.
SoftBank did not disclose the figures for sales for the iPhone or iPad to the Japan. But long lines formed outside stores whenever new models have arrived. Son, said the new iPhone 4 white, and the iPad 2, which is on sale at the Japan, on 28 April were proving popular.
The company did not give a forecast for this year.
Approximately 19% of the Softbank telecommunications at the national level equipment has been damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but nearly son all of this has been corrected, including using substitute satellite connectionssaid.
In the long term, the son said he was banking on growth in Asia and the positioning of the companies of the Softbank group to become no. 1 in the region in the field of the Internet with strategic investments, like Renren Inc..which manages a social network online in China.
The shares of Softbank fimbriated down 0.8 percent Yen 3230 ($40) in Tokyo, shortly before earnings were announced.
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