iPhone helps boost Softbank profit 41% in Q3

Softbank has reported a fiscal third quarter net profit jump of 41%, thanks in part to strong sales of the iPhone and related services, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Japan’s third-largest carrier by subscribers, Softbank said net profit for the December quarter was 24.1 billion yen (roughly $265.9 million), up from 17.1 billion yen in the year-ago quarter. “When we launched the iPhone [in the summer of 2008], some people said those phones were not suited for Japanese cellphone users,” said Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son at a news conference. “But those [skeptics] have been proven completely wrong … The iPhone is selling so well that we are really feeling the boost from it.” Mr. Son declined to say how many iPhones Softbank had sold, but said Apple’s handset was “the biggest contributor to third-quarter handset sales,” and “a major contributor to growth in data communication revenue.”