Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group swung to a small net profit in the April-June quarter and unveiled plans to buy back up to $3.4 billion in shares, answering investor calls for better returns.
It logged 10.4 billion yen ($70.7 million) in net profit, better than a loss of 316.2 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.
But it missed expectations of 109 billion yen ($748 million), according to an average of five analyst estimates compiled by LSEG and Reuters.
SoftBank announced it would buy back up to 6.8% of its own shares, worth as much as 500 billion yen. It plans to make the purchases over the next year.
The company swung to a net profit in the January-March quarter, even as an investment loss at its Vision Fund arm underscored the challenges the technology investor faces, including realising its big AI ambitions.
It booked a profit of 328.9 billion yen ($2.11 billion) in January-March, compared to a loss of 32 billion yen a year earlier. Still, the second straight quarter of profit was not enough to keep it in the black for the full year.
Reuters
