The group overall logged a net profit of 421.8 billion yen for the April-June quarter.

Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group booked a net profit of US$2.87 billion in the first quarter, driven by gains among larger listed investments in its Vision Fund portfolio.

The result will likely be welcomed by investors as SoftBank pursues its biggest spending spree since the launch of its Vision Funds in 2017 and 2019, this time making mammoth investments in artificial intelligence companies.

Investors and analysts are awaiting updates on how these investments will be financed, the timeline for returns to materialise and whether assets will be sold to fund the new projects.

Favourable market conditions for technology companies over the quarter raised valuations of SoftBank’s array of startup stakes, potentially fuelling monetisation opportunities that can be directed toward newer investments.

SoftBank’s Vision Funds hold US$45 billion worth of late-stage companies ready to list soon, up from US$36 billion at the end of March.

The group overall logged a net profit of 421.8 billion yen for the April-June quarter.

The result compared with a net loss of 174.3 billion yen for the same period a year earlier and the 127.6 billion yen average profit from three analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.

The Vision Fund unit posted an investment gain of 726.8 billion yen, around half of which derived from a surge in the share price of South Korean e-commerce firm Coupang over the quarter.