One of Uber's largest and established investors, SoftBank Group (SBG), is set to announce losses JPY 1.8 Trillion (£13bn) for financial year 2019, the company has said.
The expected negative figures come after an unsteady year for some of the companies which SBG invested in, including Uber, WeWork and WorldVu Satellites Limited (OneWeb).
Uber has always been at the centerpiece of SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's plan to build up a portfolio of next-generation transportation companies with the pure focus being on artificial intelligence (AI).
But with its £5.5bn investment in the ride-sharing firm running at a loss and Uber struggling to prove they will ever make a profit, let alone a healthy one, SBG's money is currently on a downward spiral in relation to Uber Technologies Inc.
A spokesperson for SoftBank Group, said: "The difference in operating income is mainly attributable to the expected recording of investment loss of approximately JPY 1.8 trillion at SoftBank Vision Fund for fiscal 2019, resulting from a decrease in the fair value of investments due to the deteriorating market environment.
"The difference in income before income tax is mainly due to the expected recording of non-operating loss totaling approximately JPY 800 billion for fiscal 2019 on investments held outside of SoftBank Vision Fund, including The We Company (WeWork) and WorldVu Satellites Limited (OneWeb).
"The loss represents the sum of loss from financial instruments at FVTPL, derivative loss, provisions for doubtful accounts, and impairment loss on equity method investments.
"This will be partially offset by the gain relating to the settlement of variable prepaid forward contract using Alibaba shares recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 and the dilution gain from changes in equity interest in Alibaba recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2019, as well as an expected year-on-year increase in income on equity method investments related to Alibaba."
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