Rakuten Group shares tumbled by the most in five weeks after the Japanese e-commerce firm reported a 19th straight quarterly loss.
The stock plunged as much as 10% in Tokyo on Thursday, its biggest intraday drop since April 7. The company’s net loss for the three months to March widened to ¥73.47 billion ($500 million) from ¥42.39 billion a year ago, after financing costs mounted and as it sought to turn around its sluggish wireless operations. The loss exceeded analysts’ forecast of ¥40.38 billion.
A decision by billionaire founder Hiroshi Mikitani to enter Japan’s saturated cellular network market in 2014 has been pressuring Rakuten’s earnings, even as business booms in its online shopping and finance operations.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.