SoftBank racks up report $26 billion Vision Fund loss

SoftBank Group Corp reported on Thursday a report lack of $26.2 billion at its Vision Fund unit because the tech conglomerate’s portfolio was caught in a storm of rising rates of interest and political instability.

The loss was in stark distinction to a 12 months earlier when SoftBank posted report annual revenue, surpassing world heavyweights akin to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, after the itemizing of South Korean e-commerce agency Coupang.

Coupang is buying and selling 70% beneath its itemizing value and is one in all a swathe of portfolio firms, together with ridehailers Didi Global Inc and Grab Holdings, that tumbled through the January-March quarter.

The hunch is casting a shadow on founder and CEO Masayoshi Son’s technique of heavy focus in high-growth shares more and more out of favour with buyers questioning the trail to profitability for a lot of tech firms.

Vision Fund has round 450 firms in its portfolio and made 43 investments through the fourth quarter. It is slowing the tempo of funding within the present quarter as personal costs lag the autumn in public markets.

While 20 portfolio firms raised funds at greater valuations through the quarter, SoftBank additionally marked down a few of its unlisted property, contributing to the report loss, in sectors akin to shopper, fintech and transportation.

Son, 64, has described SoftBank as a goose laying golden eggs however the tempo of listings has slowed with one notable latest exception, Indonesia’s GoTo, sliding since going public final month.

The group’s annual web loss was 1.7 trillion yen ($13.15 billion). The Vision Fund unit’s property, together with the Latin American funds, have been value $175.6 billion at March-end. That in comparison with an acquisition value of $141.6 billion.

SoftBank additionally recorded, in its non-consolidated earnings, a 669.5 billion yen loss because of its SB Northstar buying and selling arm, which had positioned bets on listed shares and derivatives.

To increase money SoftBank is concentrating on a U.S. itemizing of chip designer Arm following the collapse of the sale to chipmaker Nvidia.

($1 = 129.2600 yen)