SoftBank’s profit doubles in last quarter

30 July 2013 |

Japan-based SoftBank has announced that it doubled its net profits in the last quarter.

The positive results were partly put down to domestic deal making, in addition to the purchase of a video game developer run by the chairman’s brother, Taizo Son.

According to the Financial Times, Masayoshi Son, the Japanese billionaire and SoftBank’s CEO who earlier this month signed a $21.6 billion takeover of Sprint, is said to have earned his company Y238 billion in the three months to June, up from Y105 billion year-on-year.

Taizo Son has seen shares in his GungHo Online Entertainment company rocket 10-fold this year, giving his elder brother a solid return on his investment.

As the FT reports, SoftBank is now expecting to overtake domestic rival, NTT, for the first time.

Softbank chief Son has since accused Japanese regulators of favouritism, after being disappointed at the allocation of wireless spectrum. He said: “I can’t help thinking that maybe our problem is that we haven’t hired a bunch of former bureaucrats from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.”