SoftBank Group Corp. said Tuesday its net profit rose 11.9 percent to 1.26 trillion yen ($12 billion) in the April-June period, helped by the selling of assets to improve its finances following disastrous losses by its tech-focused investment fund.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2020, SoftBank Group's sales were down 2.0 percent from a year ago to 1.45 trillion yen.

The Japanese technology conglomerate did not disclose earnings on an operating basis or give a full-year forecast.

SoftBank, which posted a record net loss for the previous business year that ended in March, has pledged to sell up to 4.5 trillion yen worth of assets to improve its financial standing. So far, the amount has reached 4.3 trillion yen, according to SoftBank.

As part of the asset-selling plan, SoftBank has sold two-thirds of its stake in T-Mobile U.S. Inc. and a 5 percent stake in SoftBank Corp., its wireless carrier unit.

SoftBank took a hit in fiscal 2019 from the global coronavirus pandemic that rattled financial markets as its $100 billion Vision Fund incurred a 1.9 trillion yen loss.

In the three months to June, SoftBank's investment returns stood at 983.0 billion yen.

==Kyodo

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