On November 11, Rakuten announced the financial year 2022 third quarter financial results from its headquarters in Tokyo. Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani and leaders from across the Rakuten Group took to the stage for a live-streamed presentation to share highlights from the company’s diverse portfolio of more than 70 services.
“In little more than 2 years Rakuten Mobile has pulled off a miracle – not only building a brand-new technical architecture but also building a mobile network from the ground up. Now, in November 2022 we have achieved 98% population coverage,” shared Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony CEO Tareq Amin.
Mobile segment revenue rose to 89.3 billion yen in Q3 FY2022, a significant increase of 62.5% YoY. The total number of MNO and MVNO subscribers also reached 5.18 million as of the end of September 2022. Moreover, subscriptions are showing net growth, even after the conclusion of the essentially free service campaign for subscribers at the end of October 2022.
Amin pointed out that the business is still in Phase 2 of its growth plan, with more expansion to come in the near future. “We target to reach 60,000 base stations and reach population coverage of 99%…Rakuten Mobile has no desire to be the 4th mobile operator in Japan. I believe we are on our way to becoming the number one mobile operator in Japan.”
The average annual purchase amount on Japan's leading e-commerce marketplace, Rakuten Ichiba, for Rakuten Mobile subscribers is 35,831 yen higher than for non-subscribers, greatly contributing to enhanced membership value. “Rakuten Mobile is contributing to significant synergies that are bringing benefits to the entire Rakuten Group,” Mikitani emphasized.
Just one year since its launch in August 2021, Rakuten Symphony has already taken great strides in its mission of democratizing connectivity for all. Within this short period of time, the company has made 16 technology partnerships and has 14 current customers as of Q3 FY2022, with bookings exceeding US$3.1 billion. The cumulative sales revenue from launch until Q3 FY2022 reached US$315 million.
“Symphony is a collection of components that are extremely unique. I believe that what Tesla did for EV, Rakuten is doing for mobile networks.”
“Symphony is a collection of components that are extremely unique. I believe that what Tesla did for EV, Rakuten is doing for mobile networks,” Amin commented.
For more from Rakuten Group CEO Mickey Mikitani and Rakuten’s leadership team, as well as business-by-business breakdowns of Rakuten’s Q3 FY2022 performance, watch the video from last week’s financial results presentation.
For highlights and details on each business segment, please see the materials for investors in full here.
