Rakuten Reports Loss for Q3 of 2019, Dragged Down by Lyft

by Celeste Skinner
  • The company recorded an impairment loss on its investment in Lyft of $1.02 billion.
Rakuten Reports Loss for Q3 of 2019, Dragged Down by Lyft
Bloomberg
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Rakuten, an e-commerce and financial company, has published its financial results for the nine months and third quarter ended September 30, 2019. During the period, despite an uptick in revenues, the broker still reported a drop in profit and income.

During the nine months, Rakuten, which also has retail brokerage operations through Rakuten Securities, reported revenues of ¥905.8 billion ($8.3 billion). When measuring this against the same period of the previous year, where revenues reached ¥790.3 billion, revenues have grown by 14.6 percent year-on-year.

Although the e-commerce firm did report a growth in revenues, overall, the broker still reported a net loss of ¥14.8 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. This is significantly lower than the net income the company reported in the nine months ended in September 2018, which was ¥107.7 billion.

In the third quarter of 2019, Rakuten recorded an impairment loss on its investment in Lyft, a ride-sharing company, due to significant falls in the share price since the listing. In particular, the company wrote off ¥111.2 billion during the quarter.

Rakuten Fintech revenue increases by 13%

Taking a look at the Japanese company’s fintech revenue, which includes revenue from the retail brokerage, Rakuten posted ¥354.0 billion in segment revenue. On an annual comparison, this is higher by 13 percent.

Segment profit, on the other hand, was ¥50.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Weighing this against the same nine-month period of the previous year, which had a segment profit of ¥51.9 million, profit for the most recent period has fallen slightly by 1.9 percent.

For the Tokyo-based firm’s securities services, via Rakuten Securities, revenue and income both decreased, according to the report. This drop was driven by reduced commissions, which in turn were caused by a sluggish domestic stock market.

Rakuten, an e-commerce and financial company, has published its financial results for the nine months and third quarter ended September 30, 2019. During the period, despite an uptick in revenues, the broker still reported a drop in profit and income.

During the nine months, Rakuten, which also has retail brokerage operations through Rakuten Securities, reported revenues of ¥905.8 billion ($8.3 billion). When measuring this against the same period of the previous year, where revenues reached ¥790.3 billion, revenues have grown by 14.6 percent year-on-year.

Although the e-commerce firm did report a growth in revenues, overall, the broker still reported a net loss of ¥14.8 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. This is significantly lower than the net income the company reported in the nine months ended in September 2018, which was ¥107.7 billion.

In the third quarter of 2019, Rakuten recorded an impairment loss on its investment in Lyft, a ride-sharing company, due to significant falls in the share price since the listing. In particular, the company wrote off ¥111.2 billion during the quarter.

Rakuten Fintech revenue increases by 13%

Taking a look at the Japanese company’s fintech revenue, which includes revenue from the retail brokerage, Rakuten posted ¥354.0 billion in segment revenue. On an annual comparison, this is higher by 13 percent.

Segment profit, on the other hand, was ¥50.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Weighing this against the same nine-month period of the previous year, which had a segment profit of ¥51.9 million, profit for the most recent period has fallen slightly by 1.9 percent.

For the Tokyo-based firm’s securities services, via Rakuten Securities, revenue and income both decreased, according to the report. This drop was driven by reduced commissions, which in turn were caused by a sluggish domestic stock market.

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