SoftBank Group Posts Losses for Third Consecutive Year... No Mention of 'Naver' at Briefing

SoftBank's parent company, SoftBank Group (SBG), has posted losses for three consecutive years.

SoftBank Group announced on the 13th that it recorded a consolidated net loss of 227.6 billion yen (approximately 1.9983 trillion KRW) for the 2023 fiscal year (April 2023 to March 2024). This marks the third consecutive year of losses. However, the loss amount significantly decreased compared to the 2022 fiscal year (-970.1 billion yen).

Masayoshi Son (Son Masayoshi in Japanese), Chairman of Japan's SoftBank Group. [Image source=Yonhap News]

At the earnings briefing held on the same day, SoftBank Group did not comment on the equity negotiations between SoftBank and Naver regarding Line Yahoo. SoftBank and Naver are joint major shareholders of Line Yahoo.

Group Chairman Masayoshi Son (손정의, Japanese name Son Masayoshi) did not attend the briefing. CFO Yoshimitsu Goto (後藤芳光) attended instead.

CFO Goto explained the reason for Chairman Son's absence, saying, "He is engaged in various activities to explore what can be done in the era of artificial intelligence (AI)."