SoftBank lost nearly $350 million on investments in Ola, Snapdeal during last nine months of 2016
However, the Japan-based technology conglomerate said it was still 'deeply committed' to its portfolio in India.
Technology conglomerate SoftBank Group on Wednesday said it had recorded a loss of nearly $350 million (approximately Rs 2,344.47 crore) from its investments in taxi aggregator Ola and e-commerce platform Snapdeal during the last nine months of 2016. However, the company noted it had offset a larger loss through a gain of $144 million (approximately Rs 964.58 crore) because of currency exchange fluctuations, The Economic Times reported.
The company, which published the figures as part of its third quarter earnings, said the losses needed to be taken in the context of currency fluctuations and accounting norms, which did not necessarily reflect the actual performance of the two companies. “Our major investments, including Snapdeal and Ola, continue to be recorded on our books at a value in excess of our blended cost basis,” the company said. “SoftBank remains deeply committed to its portfolio in India and elsewhere in the world,” a spokesperson for the Group said.
SoftBank had earlier announced plans to invest $10 billion (approximately Rs 66,985 crore) in India by 2024. The company did not say whether it had marked down its valuation for both Ola and Snapdeal. In November 2016, the company said it had written down its investments in India, mainly Ola Cabs and Snapdeal, by around $555 million (approximately Rs 3,702 crore).
While both companies have been looking to raise additional funds, valuation concerns from investors have obstructed financing talks, according to The Financial Express. While Ola continues to compete with Uber in the country’s ride-hailing market, Snapdeal is in a three-way competition with Amazon and Flipkart in the e-commerce sector. In the past two years, SoftBank has invested $627 million (Rs 4,181 crore approximately) in Snapdeal and $210 million (Rs 1,401 crore approximately) in Ola Cabs.