Softbank Corp. reported Wednesday that group sales reached 1.108 trillion yen in the business year that ended at the end of March, up 32 percent from a year earlier and achieving the 1 trillion yen threshold for the first time.

The Internet investor attributed the sales increase to brisk broadband business, e-commerce and Internet ads.

Sales in broadband infrastructure businesses were up 31 percent to 268 billion yen due to an increase in the number of customers using its Yahoo BB ADSL services, and sales in Internet business rose 52 percent to 156 billion yen with the help of Net advertisement revenues.

In e-commerce, sales increased 11 percent to 283 billion yen thanks to solid sales of personal computer software for mass merchandisers.

Operating profit came to 62 billion yen, recovering from a 25 billion yen loss the previous year and marking the first yearly consolidated profit in five years, thanks to increased revenues from broadband infrastructure business and Internet ads.

Its fixed-line telecommunications business suffered an operating loss of 25 billion yen due to a delay in opening low-cost telephone circuits by its affiliate, Japan Telecom Co., even though the company saw improved earnings later in the business year, Softbank said.

The improvement in operating profit led ordinary profit to reach 27 billion yen, recovering from a loss of 45 billion yen logged in the previous year.

Net profit reached 57 billion yen, also recovering from the previous year's loss of 59 billion yen, after Softbank sold its stakes in four Yahoo group units, in Europe and South Korea, as well as in Yahoo Japan Corp.