Rakuten's FY2024 earnings show growth despite income loss

** Rakuten Group (TSE:4755) announced its non-consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, showing a significant increase in operating income, up 73.0% year-over-year to ¥12.958 billion, driven by the solid growth of the domestic e-commerce business. Net income also saw a rise of 10.6% to ¥249.936 billion, largely due to gains from the sale of Rakuten Card shares and the intra-group transfer of Viber Media shares, amounting to ¥260.232 billion. However, ordinary income reported a loss of ¥8.319 billion due to decreased dividend income from the partial sale of Rakuten Securities shares to Mizuho Securities in 2023 and increased interest expenses from refinancing measures.