Nintendo net profits rise to over $900 mn

Japanese videogaming giant Nintendo on Tuesday said it made a net profit of 102.96 billion yen ($900 million) from April to December 2016 mainly due to the augmented reality game "Pokemon GO".

During the first nine months of the fiscal year ending on March 31, Nintendo recorded operating profits of 26.3 billion yen, 38.1 per cent lower than the previous year, the company said in a statement.

The Kyoto-based videogame manufacturer posted a sales turnover of 311.12 billion yen, a decline of 26.9 per cent, during that same period, Efe news reported.

The downward trend in operating profits was a result of a huge decline in sales of its home video game console Wii U and its related games in the light of the upcoming launch of its newest console Nintendo Switch.

However, Nintendo underlined the success of its Pokemon Sun and Moon video games for themon GO.

The company also made 49.1 billion yen thanks to an increased valuation of its subsidiary Pokemon Company, which owns the rights to the franchise.

The sale of its US baseball club Seattle Mariners brought in an extraordinary income of 63.5 billion yen for the company.

A devaluation of the yen and the success of Super Mario Run, the first smartphone game involving the iconic plumber designed by Nintendo, that surpassed 40 million downloads within four days of being launched, also contributed to higher net profits.

Keeping in mind these figures and the weakening yen, Nintendo has decided to make an upward revision of its results forecast for the current fiscal year, hoping to reach net profits of 90 billion yen.

--IANS

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