International News

(Telecompaper) Japanese communications provider Softbank saw its first quarter net sales grow over 5 percent while income dropped almost 30 percent. Net sales in the three months to June totalled JPY 700.84 billion, up 5.2 percent from JPY 666.33 billion in the year-ago period, reflecting steady sales at Softbank Mobile. Operating income went up 44.6 percent to JPY 156.60 billion, and ordinary income rose 61 percent to JPY 126.84 billion, driven by earnings growth in the mobile communications segment due to an increase in the number of mobile subscribers and an increase in ARPU. Softbank recorded a net income of JPY 19.44 billion, down 29 percent from JPY 27.38 billion a year earlier, mainly due to an increase in total income taxes. For the full year, Softbank expects operating income of JPY 500 billion, up 7.3 percent year-on-year.