Softbank Corp. said Thursday that its operating profit in the business year to March rose 19.6 percent to ¥324.29 billion after it saw the largest net growth in subscribers among Japan's cellular phone operators.

Sales rose 9.1 percent from the previous year to ¥2.78 trillion and net profit reached ¥108.62 billion, up sharply from the ¥28.82 billion posted a year earlier.

Half of the net profit came from a one-time gain of ¥57.2 billion Softbank made from the listing of affiliate Alibaba.com Ltd in Hong Kong, in which Softbank has about a one-third stake.