SoftBank Group Corp. said Thursday its net profit in fiscal 2018 rose 35.8 percent to ¥1.41 trillion, supported by gains from investments in technology startups through its nearly $100 billion Vision Fund.
The investment and telecommunications group posted a record operating profit of ¥2.35 trillion in the same year, up 80.5 percent from a year earlier, on sales of ¥9.60 trillion, up 4.8 percent.
SoftBank Group did not release an earnings forecast for the current fiscal year through March 2020.
Of the ¥2.35 trillion in operating profit, the group earned ¥1.26 trillion from its fund management operations including the Vision Fund, which was founded in 2017 with partners including Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.
The fund has invested in 69 companies, including U.S. ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc. and Indian hotel operator Oyo Hotels & Homes.
The group has shifted focus, to investments in global technology startups from telecommunication services, since listing its mobile phone carrier SoftBank Corp. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December.