Softbank’s Net Profit Jumps 41 Percent on iPhone Sales

Kenneth Maxwell, reporting for the WSJ:

“When we launched the iPhone [in the summer of 2008], some people said those phones were not suited for Japanese cellphone users,” said [CEO] Masayoshi Son at a news conference. Most Japanese cellphones are smaller and lighter than the Apple device.

“But those [skeptics] have been proven completely wrong … The iPhone is selling so well that we are really feeling the boost from it,” Mr. Son said. He declined to say how many iPhones Softbank had sold, but described the handset as “the biggest contributor to third-quarter handset sales,” and “a major contributor to growth in data communication revenue.”

And here’s Apple COO Tim Cook from last week’s 2010 Q1 conference call:

In Japan what is going on there is the iPhone has been a runaway hit. The iPhone was up over 400% year-over-year during the quarter. So that is what is driving the huge revenue growth you see in Japan.

★ Wednesday, 3 February 2010