Nintendo 9-month net profit nearly doubles, forecasts revised up

TOKYO: Nintendo said Monday net profit nearly doubled in the nine months to December and hiked its full-year forecast again as coronavirus lockdowns drive demand in the gaming sector.

The Japanese giant said net profit hit 376.7 billion yen ($3.6 billion), up 91.8 percent from the April-December period a year earlier, while sales climbed 37.3 percent to 1.4 trillion yen.

Nintendo, which revised its annual forecasts up last quarter, said it was further upgrading its net profit outlook to 400 billion yen for the fiscal year to March, from an earlier estimate of 300 billion yen.

Full-year sales now are projected at 1.6 trillion yen, compared with 1.4 trillion yen forecast in November.

The gaming sector has been one of the few to thrive during the pandemic, with people forced to stay at home often turning to games for some escapism and to pass time.

While vaccines are now being rolled out in many parts of the world, a new wave of infections is forcing several governments to reinstate lockdowns, sustaining demand for home entertainment.