Japanese landline and mobile network operator, Softbank has reported a 41% jump in its net profits for the fiscal third-quarter on strong sales of the Apple iPhone and services. The company reported net profits of 24.1 billion yen (US$266 million), up from a 17.1 billion yen a year ago.

The company's operating profits rose by 43% to 135.7 billion yen, although it recorded a write-down of 47.2 billion yen due to the costs of migrating to a faster 3G network. Revenues rose 7% to 696 billion yen. Operating profit in its mobile phone network, which is its biggest division, jumped by 80 percent from a year ago.

"When we launched the iPhone, some people said those phones were not suited for Japanese cellphone users," said Masayoshi Son at a news conference. "But those [skeptics] have been proven completely wrong ... The iPhone is selling so well that we are really feeling the boost from it," Mr. Son said. He declined to say how many iPhones Softbank had sold, but described the handset as "the biggest contributor to third-quarter handset sales," and "a major contributor to growth in data communication revenue."

For the full year, the company maintained its operating profit forecast at 420 billion yen. Softbank doesn't provide revenue or net profit forecasts.