On Tuesday, Nintendo (OTCMKTS:NTDOY) announced an 18% increase in net profit for its first fiscal half, with robust sales driven by the success of the Super Mario movie and the popularity of its new video game software.
For the period spanning April to September, Nintendo’s net profit reached nearly 271.3 billion yen (approximately $1.8 billion), marking a significant rise from 230 billion yen during the same period in the previous year. Total sales surged by 21% to 796 billion yen (around $5.3 billion).
Nintendo continued to experience strong demand for its Nintendo Switch game software, thanks in part to the hit Super Mario movie, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” One of the notable beneficiaries of the movie’s success was “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,” which sold 3.2 million units in the period, bringing cumulative sales to 57 million games.
This year’s Super Mario movie achieved remarkable success, becoming one of the top-selling animated films in history, second only to “Frozen II.” It also holds the distinction of being the highest-grossing animated film based on a video game.
“The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” released in May, also contributed to Nintendo’s strong performance. The latest installment in the popular action-adventure series sold 19.5 million units globally.
Hardware sales remained robust, with 6.84 million machines, including various Nintendo Switch models, sold during the period. Cumulative sales of Nintendo Switch consoles reached 132.5 million. Nintendo has set its sights on selling 15 million machines during the fiscal year ending in March 2024, including during the crucial Christmas and New Year’s shopping season.
Nintendo has exciting plans for the upcoming holiday season, including the release of the “Super Mario RPG” game software and Pokemon games. In addition, the company is encouraging households to purchase multiple Switch consoles to enable family and friends to play together.
Nintendo also recently launched “Super Mario Bros. Wonder,” the first entirely new Super Mario series game played in side-scrolling mode in over a decade. The company aims to maintain its platform’s vitality by introducing a continuous stream of new titles and add-on content from various software makers.
Taking into account its robust performance, Nintendo has increased its full fiscal year profit forecast to 420 billion yen (approximately $2.8 billion), up from the 340 billion yen ($2.3 billion) estimate provided in May. Despite the increase, this projection is still 3% lower than the previous fiscal year’s record, when at-home entertainment companies like Nintendo benefitted from people staying home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moreover, the weakening yen, which enhances the overseas earnings of Japanese exporters, is another favorable factor for Nintendo. The company expects the U.S. dollar to trade at 140 Japanese yen, up from 130 yen, as the U.S. dollar has recently been trading at about 150 yen.
Featured Image: Unsplash @ Erik Mclean
