Latest news with #HiroshiMikitani
23-05-2025
- Business
Rakuten Ready to Sell Govt-Stockpiled Rice Online, CEO Says
News from Japan Society Technology May 23, 2025 19:59 (JST) Tokyo, May 23 (Jiji Press)--Rakuten Group Inc., a Japanese e-commerce company, is prepared to sell government-stockpiled rice anytime soon, Chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said Friday. Mikitani made the comments to reporters after agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi asked him in a meeting for cooperation in selling stockpiled rice online. The government plans to start selling stockpiled rice under no-bid contracts as early as next week as part of efforts to help lower rice prices by increasingly supplies. Rakuten is positively looking to buy stockpiled rice under such a scheme for online sale, Mikitani said. "We don't want to make a vast profit" from the sale of stockpiled rice, he said. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Malaysian Reserve
15-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Rakuten Group shares sink on worse-than-expected loss
RAKUTEN Group Inc. shares tumbled by the most in five weeks after the Japanese e-commerce firm reported a 19th straight quarterly loss. The stock plunged as much as 10% in Tokyo on Thursday, its biggest intraday drop since April 7. The company's net loss for the three months to March widened to ¥73.47 billion ($500 million) from ¥42.39 billion a year ago, after financing costs mounted and as it sought to turn around its sluggish wireless operations. The loss exceeded analysts' forecast of ¥40.38 billion. A decision by billionaire founder Hiroshi Mikitani to enter Japan's saturated cellular network market in 2014 has been pressuring Rakuten's earnings, even as business booms in its online shopping and finance operations. Rakuten Group's mobile segment posted a loss that narrowed to ¥59.3 billion from a year earlier, it said in a release Wednesday. The number of mobile subscribers rose by 4% from the previous quarter, while average revenue per user slightly decreased to ¥2,078. 'Contracts and average revenue per user are weak and income is sluggish, with no apparent catalysts to drive share price recovery,' Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co. analysts including Tetsuro Tsusaka wrote in a note. The burden of financial expenses, such as interest payments on overseas bonds, also continues to weigh on earnings. Further improvements in the mobile business may be needed to help boost its credit rating and break its financial downward spiral. Chief Executive Officer Mikitani said at a press briefing Wednesday that the company will focus on improving communication quality and increasing awareness to attract new users. Rakuten plans to install an additional 10,000 base stations within 2025, aiming to eliminate areas with no signal and ease network congestion in densely populated areas. Rakuten Group will likely see limited potential impact from the US' so-called reciprocal tariffs, Jefferies Japan Ltd. analysts including Hiroko Sato wrote in a note, adding that the company expects no actual earnings impact at this point. –BLOOMBERG
Japan Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Rakuten group shares sink on worse-than-expected quarterly loss
Rakuten Group shares tumbled after the Japanese e-commerce firm reported a 19th straight quarterly loss, fueling concerns about the financial drag from its ailing mobile business. The stock plunged as much as 8.9% in Tokyo on Thursday, its biggest intraday drop since April 7. The company's net loss for the three months to March widened to ¥73.47 billion ($500 million) from ¥42.39 billion a year ago, after financing costs mounted and as it sought to turn around its sluggish wireless operations. The loss exceeded analysts' forecast of ¥40.38 billion. A decision by billionaire founder Hiroshi Mikitani to enter Japan's saturated cellular network market in 2014 has been pressuring Rakuten's earnings, even as business booms in its online shopping and finance operations. Rakuten Group's mobile segment posted a loss that narrowed to ¥59.3 billion from a year earlier, it said in a release Wednesday. The number of mobile subscribers rose by 4% from the previous quarter, while average revenue per user slightly decreased to ¥2,078. "Contracts and average revenue per user are weak and income is sluggish, with no apparent catalysts to drive share price recovery,' Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities analysts including Tetsuro Tsusaka wrote in a note. The burden of financial expenses, such as interest payments on overseas bonds, also continues to weigh on earnings. Further improvements in the mobile business may be needed to help boost its credit rating and break its financial downward spiral. CEO Mikitani said at a news briefing Wednesday that the company will focus on improving communication quality and increasing awareness to attract new users. Rakuten plans to install an additional 10,000 base stations within 2025, aiming to eliminate areas with no signal and ease network congestion in densely populated areas.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rakuten Scraps Plan to List Securities Unit on Tokyo Bourse
(Bloomberg) -- Rakuten Group Inc. said it no longer plans to list its securities arm on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and will instead focus on deepening its partnership with Mizuho Securities Co. Manhattan's Morning Commute Time Drops With New Congestion Toll Trump's Federal Funding Pause Threatens State Financials Housing Aid Uncertain After Trump's Spending Freeze Memo US Students' Reading Scores Drop to Worst in More Than 20 Years Trump Paves the Way to Deputize Local Police on Immigration The Japanese e-commerce pioneer had planned an initial public offering for Rakuten Securities Holdings Inc., part of a push to shore up finances depleted by a foray into Japan's hyper-competitive wireless carrier market. In late 2023, it temporarily withdrew that application, stating that it would reapply for a listing at a later date. Mizuho to Lift Rakuten Securities Stake, Brokerage Pulls IPO But in November, Rakuten reported its first quarterly operating profit since 2020 after losses in its mobile segment shrank. That segment is now profitable, discounting marketing costs to win new customers, Rakuten founder Hiroshi Mikitani told Bloomberg TV in a recent interview. Rakuten Billionaire Defends Costly Mobile Foray With Big AI Bet Indy Pass, the Anti-Vail Seasonal Ski Ticket, Is Gaining Fans The Internet Almost Killed Barnes & Noble, Then Saved It What America's Tech Billionaires Really Bought When They Backed Donald Trump Musk Pitches New Narrative as Tesla Sales Fall Forget Factories, Small US Towns Want Buc-ee's Gas Stations ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
