Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group Corp.’s said Tuesday that its profit rose 12% in April-June from a year earlier as its investments added to its coffers, including sales of its shares in U.S. carrier T-Mobile.

Tokyo-based SoftBank reported Tuesday a fiscal first quarter profit of 1.2 trillion yen ($11.5 billion), up from 1.1 trillion yen in the previous fiscal year. Quarterly sales inched down 2% to 1.45 trillion yen ($13.7 billion).

SoftBank, whose group includes the carrier that introduced the iPhone to Japan, said it has been shoring up its cash reserves.

SoftBank announced last month that it’s setting up a new subsidiary company to carry out coronavirus tests and will start giving them first to its employees and members of the SoftBank Hawks professional baseball team.

SoftBank got a lift from U.S. carrier Sprint’s merger with T-Mobile, a deal in the works for a few years that was finally completed in April. That means Sprint is no longer part of SoftBank’s group or earnings.

Other companies in the SoftBank fold include British “Internet of Things” company Arm and Brightstar Corp., a U.S. wireless service provider. The Pepper humanoid robot is also a SoftBank product.

SoftBank also benefited from its Vision Fund investments, as it sold parts of its global portfolio, and stock prices of its holdings recovered, it said.

WeWork just opened in a new locale in Japan, in northern Sendai. It already operates in Tokyo, as well as Nagoya, Fukuoka and other urban areas in Japan.

SoftBank logged a loss in the fiscal year that ended in March. It did not give a projection for the current fiscal year that ends in March 2021.

Son said in an online news conference that the company was defying the naysayers, including analysts and reporters who had for years predicted that SoftBank might collapse.

“Defense is the best offense,” he said, showing photos of warring samurai.

He said the company has raised cash, its debts are decreasing and his longtime vision of a global digital shift was correct and being accentuated by the virus outbreak. “Our investor value is rising,” he said.

Source:AP

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French gaming giant Ubisoft is parting ways with its creative director and two other executives and promising zero tolerance for “toxic” staff behavior following an internal investigation of misconduct and media reports of sexual harassment and other workplace abuse.

In a statement Sunday, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the developer of “Assassin’s Creed” and other games “has fallen short in its obligation to guarantee a safe and inclusive workplace environment for its employees.”

“This is unacceptable, as toxic behaviors are in direct contrast to values on which I have never compromised — and never will,” Guillemot said.

Ubisoft announced the immediate resignation of Serge Hascoet as the firm’s powerful chief creative officer.

Hascoet joined Ubisoft in 1987, the year after Guillemot founded the company with his four brothers. Ubisoft had previously described Hascoet as its “creative leader” whose “unique vision has infused every game released by the company.”

The director of Ubisoft’s Canadian studios, Yannis Mallat, is also leaving immediately, because “recent allegations that have come to light in Canada against multiple employees make it impossible for him to continue in this position,” the company said.

Cecile Cornet is being replaced as Ubisoft’s global head of human resources.

Guillemot also promised further “profound changes across the company to improve and strengthen our workplace culture.”

Investigations by French daily Liberation and other media reports have pointed to alleged sexual harassment targeting women employees, and other workplace misconduct, and a growing willingness by some in the industry to speak up against abuses in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

The management shake-up at Ubisoft follows its announcement in June of an internal investigation and an apology “to everyone affected by this.”

“We must do better,” it said then.

Facebook and Microsoft's grievances over how their gaming apps appear on Apple's App Store may feed into an EU investigation into the iPhone maker's business as EU antitrust regulators said such concerns are on their radar.

The European Commission in June opened four probes into Apple, three of which are into its App Store and its restrictive rules, including requirements that app developers use its own in-app purchasing system.

US social media giant Facebook and Microsoft are the latest companies to voice concerns about the rules, which have drawn criticism from app developers who say they create an uneven playing field to compete with the iPhone maker.

Asked about Facebook and Microsoft's issues with Apple, Commission spokeswoman Arianna Podesta said in a statement: "The Commission is aware of these concerns regarding Apple's App Store rules."

She did not provide details.

Apple dismissed criticism of its App Store rules, saying that all apps are reviewed against the same set of guidelines whose aim is to protect customers and provide a fair and level playing field for developers.

Facebook last week said its gaming app was only available on Apple's App Store as a streaming service and that users will not be able to play games.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said the company had to remove gameplay functionality entirely to secure Apple's approval of its Facebook Gaming app.

Microsoft, which has a game-streaming service called Project xCloud said: "Apple stands alone as the only general-purpose platform to deny consumers from cloud gaming and game subscription services like Xbox Game Pass."

"It consistently treats gaming apps differently, applying more lenient rules to non-gaming apps even when they include interactive content," it added in an emailed statement.

Source: Reuters

 

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