TOKYO-- SoftBank Corp. chief executive Masayoshi Son anointed
the head of the company's U.S.-based Internet investment arm as a
future successor, a possible indication of further expansion abroad
following the 2013 takeover of U.S. mobile operator Sprint
Corp.
Mr. Son said he would appoint Nikesh Arora, a former Google
executive who has been heading SoftBank's investment arm in San
Carlos, Calif., as representative director and president of
SoftBank.
The head of the firm made the comments after SoftBank announced
its latest earning results showing robust profits that beat the
company's forecasts for the year ended March 31, despite the
continuing struggles to turn around Sprint.
"I won't be retiring yet, and Nikesh may pass away tomorrow in a
car accident. I can't comment on when and in what form, but I'm
certain that he is the primary candidate to succeed me," Mr. Son
said. The CEO said it was the first time since he founded SoftBank
that he had given the title, "president" to someone else.
"From now on, our focus will be set overseas, we will be a
global SoftBank," he added.
SoftBank reported an operating profit of Yen982.7 billion ($8.2
billion) in the just-ended fiscal year, beating the Yen900 billion
target it set in November. The figure fell short of the Yen1.07
trillion logged in fiscal 2013, though the earlier figure was
padded by one-time gains from consolidating units GungHo Online
Entertainment and Willcom Inc.
The company posted a net profit of Yen763.68 billion, up 29%
from a year earlier. Revenue also jumped 30% to Yen8.67
trillion.
The company didn't give projections for the current fiscal year
ending next March.
Sprint is in the middle of a turnaround attempt led by Chief
Executive Marcelo Claure, who took the helm in August as the
company abandoned plans to acquire T-Mobile, the No. 4 wireless
carrier in the U.S. Sprint has been dogged by a network whose
quality has lagged behind those of its rivals amid a complex and
prolonged overhaul.
Last week Sprint reported a fall in revenue of 6.7% for the
first three months of the year, while it hung on to its third-place
rank with 57.1 million total subscribers at the end of March.
Mr. Son said Sprint's business was improving step-by-step, with
an increase in "postpaid" users.
Write to Alexander Martin at alexander.martin@wsj.com
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