Nintendo Raises Annual Profit Forecast, Sells 6.68 Million Switch Units in Six Months
Nintendo raised its annual profit forecast by 18 percent on Tuesday as a weaker yen helped the Japanese video game maker shake off slower-than-expected sales. The company, which earns about 80 percent of its revenue overseas, expects its net profit to reach JPY 400 billion (about Rs. 22,200 crore) in the year to March 2023, up from the previous forecast of JPY 340 billion (about Rs. Rs. 18,900 million).
The new estimate still fell short of the consensus forecast for a profit of JPY 463 billion (about Rs. 25,800 crore), based on a Refinitiv survey of 21 analysts.
The creator of blockbuster titles such as Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda cut its Switch console sales forecast for the business year to 19 million units from 21 million.
Nintendo changed its outlook for the dollar-yen rate to 135 from 115 to reflect the Japanese currency’s sharp decline this year.
Nintendo sold 6.68 million units of its Switch console in the six months to September 30, down from 8.28 million a year earlier. The console is in its sixth year on the market.
The company said in September that its latest “Splatoon” title, in which players engage in inky turf battles, sold more than 3.45 million units in Japan in the three days following its launch on Sept. 9, its highest ever domestic sales.
Back in August, Nintendo announced that the company sold 23 percent fewer Switch consoles in the April-June quarter than last year following a chip shortage.
At the time, the Kyoto-based gaming company said it expected purchases to improve “from late summer to autumn” and maintained its forecast for annual sales of 21 million units until the end of March 2023, a figure it has revised down to 19. .millions.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
