Rakuten Group announced on the 9th that its consolidated interim financial results for the period ending June 2024 (under International Financial Reporting Standards) showed a net loss of 75.9 billion yen (compared to a loss of 139.9 billion yen in the same period last year). This marks the fifth consecutive year that the company has posted a loss in its interim financial statements. The number of line contracts in the mobile phone business operated by its subsidiary Rakuten Mobile (Tokyo) is growing, but the burden of building base stations is heavy and the company has not yet turned a profit. Rakuten Group will hold a briefing at 3:15 p.m., with Chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani in attendance. Looking at each business segment, the adjusted operating loss for the mobile phone business was 132.5 billion yen, an improvement from the same period last year. Both the internet business, centered on Rakuten Market, and the financial business, including Rakuten Card, saw increased profits. The number of line contracts increased by 500,000 in just over two months up to mid-June, exceeding 7 million. In the same month, the company also launched service using the “platinum band,” a frequency band that makes it easy to connect indoors, and stepped up its PR efforts. The goal is to achieve 8 to 10 million cases, which is necessary to stabilize profits. Regarding Rakuten Mobile’s expansion in the number of line contracts, the heads of other major mobile phone companies explained at their earnings conferences that the impact is not significant at present. Jiji Press, Economic Department, Published on August 9, 2024 at 3:17pm.
>>6 Even though it’s called the platinum band, it’s only 3MHz wide x 2. Other companies have 15MHz width x 2, so it’s only 1/5 of that. In reality, for the time being, they will likely expand the use of au’s platinum band, which can be used for roaming, to promote ease of connection. This still means you can use the platinum band.
You’ve worked really hard since then. All that’s left now is to expand the platinum band area, which is only available in a small part of Tokyo, but do we have the budget? Should we buy more?
Apparently Mobile is planning to sell its current communications equipment to a fund and lease it for use. It’s getting pretty risky. And Mobile’s Mikitani campaign is pretty lavish.
>>20 It’s called a sale and leaseback. They put a lot of money into it, sold it, and now they’re selling it for 150 to 300 billion yen. And on top of that, are they going to pay the lease in the future? They’ve submitted a plan to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, but I wonder if they’re not going to get any guidance.
>>28 75.9 billion yen is enough to build a dome stadium. If the Rakuten Eagles’ home stadium was a dome stadium, they could make money in the winter, but the loss in the mobile phone business is just throwing money down the drain.
Well…that’s tough. But is it acceptable to lease base stations to foreign companies? If they can’t pay, they will be confiscated by the foreign companies. Well, I understand the sense of desperation.
Is he still dressed casually and giving some sort of presentation with a thin microphone sticking out from his cheek? If you don’t realize how lame that is, then auto.
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