Softbank quarterly profit rises on iPhone sales

Japan's No. 3 mobile carrier Softbank Corp. said Wednesday its net profit rose 1.9 percent in the July-September quarter thanks to steady demand for Apple's iPhone.

Softbank in July launched the much-hyped sale of the popular iPhone in Japan. The company said the launch of the Apple Inc. gadget helped lift its profit, which came at 21.7 billion yen ($225 million).

"The iPhone certainly supported our profit and boosted the number of new mobile phone subscribers during the quarter," said a Softbank spokesman, who declined to be named due to a company policy.

"Since the July launch, iPhone sales have been very good," the spokesman said. But Softbank declined to give iPhone sales figures.

The number of new mobile phone subscribers increased by 521,400 during the quarter, thanks partly to the iPhone.

But the company's revenue in the July-September quarter slipped 2.8 percent year-on-year to 681.7 billion yen ($7 billion) due to slumping sales of mobile handsets.

"Amid an economic downturn, consumers tend to keep their mobile phone handsets longer rather than switching them to the latest models," said the Softbank spokesman.

Sales from the mobile phone business fell 5.1 percent to 401.3 billion yen ($4.2 billion) during the quarter. The mobile phone revenue alone accounts for nearly 60 percent of Softbank's total sales.

In the six months through September, Softbank's net profit sank 11.5 percent to 41.1 billion yen ($426 million), with revenue down 2.6 percent year-on-year at 1.3 trillion yen ($13.8 billion).

Softbank has been increasing users with the latest number of its mobile service customers standing at 19.6 million.

Its market share stood at only 18.7 percent, compared with Japan's top mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s 51.5 percent and its rival KDDI Corp.'s 29 percent.

Shares of Softbank surged 15.4 percent to 750 yen on Wednesday. The results were released after trading ended.