This April 16, 2019 file photo shows the logo of SoftBank Group Corp. in Tokyo. (Mainichi)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- SoftBank Group Corp. said Tuesday its net profit shrank 39.4 percent to 761.51 billion yen ($6.9 billion) in the April-June quarter as the impact of a one-off gain from asset sales a year earlier disappeared, despite a boost from its investments in emerging firms.

       Sales grew 15.6 percent from the previous year to 1.48 trillion yen in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, SoftBank said after reporting a record net profit for any Japanese firm in the last business year that ended in March.

       SoftBank does not release figures on an operating basis or full-year forecasts.

       SoftBank has been stepping up investments in startups with growth potential through its Vision Fund, morphing into more of an investment company from a telecom giant.

       The segment involving Vision Fund 1 and 2 reported a profit of 235.55 billion yen for the first quarter, up from 129.63 billion yen a year earlier.

       The value of investments in China's ride-sharing Didi Global Inc. and U.S. food delivery service operator DoorDash Inc. increased, contrasting with a drop in the share price of South Korean online retailer Coupang Inc. after going public in March.

       Coupang's growth was a factor behind SoftBank Group's net profit of 4.99 trillion yen reported in fiscal 2020.

       The Chinese regulatory crackdown on tech companies has raised concern about the high exposure of SoftBank's investments to China and its share prices have fallen sharply despite the robust earnings released in May.

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