Rakuten Remains in Red in Jan.-Sept.

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)--Rakuten Group Inc. said Wednesday that it suffered a net loss in January-September, remaining in the red for the nine-month period for the sixth year in a row, dragged down by costs at its mobile phone unit.

The company posted a consolidated net loss of 150.3 billion yen, smaller than a loss of 208.4 billion yen a year before, on revenue of 1,617.6 billion yen, up 8.5 pct year on year.

Rakuten Mobile Inc. alone posted an adjusted operating loss of 188 billion yen, shrinking from the year-before loss of 266.2 billion yen. Its number of subscribers rose to 8.12 million as of Sunday from 6.52 million at the end of 2023.

In an online briefing on Wednesday, Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani expressed confidence that the mobile unit will achieve a turnaround "in the not-too-distant future."

Rakuten Mobile is "serving as a booster for the group's overall growth," Mikitani stressed. He noted that the mobile unit is attracting many customers through the group's other services.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]