Nintendo says full-year profit up nearly 40% on strong game sales

"The results for this fiscal year showed strong software sales for Nintendo Switch, which contributed to the expansion of hardware sales," the firm said in a statement.

TOKYO (AFP) - Nintendo said Thursday its full-year net profit jumped nearly 40 percent, lifted by strong sales of blockbuster game titles for its popular Switch console.

The Kyoto-based games giant said "Pokémon" and "Super Smash Bros" gave an extra boost for the year as its shares surged on expectations of its launch of Switch games in China.

Nintendo’s net profit for the fiscal year to March rose 39.0 percent from a year earlier to 194 billion yen ($1.7 billion), on sales of 1.2 trillion yen, up 13.7 percent.

"The results for this fiscal year showed strong software sales for Nintendo Switch, which contributed to the expansion of hardware sales," the firm said in a statement.

In particular, "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" recorded sales of nearly 14 million units, while "Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu!", and "Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee!" sold more than 10 million units, it said.

For the current fiscal year to March next year, Nintendo forecasts its bottom-line profit would decline by 7.2 percent but set a higher sales target.

Nintendo said sales of Switch hardware are projected to rise six percent to 18 million units for the current fiscal year with plans to release "Super Mario Maker 2", "Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield" and "The Legend of Zelda".

Its latest portable console, the Switch, has become a huge global seller, helped by the release of innovative, family-friendly titles that have wowed critics and gamers alike.

The company’s shares surged more than 12 percent since news reports said earlier this month that its games and the Switch will soon be available in China via tech giant Tencent.

"Switch’s expected launch in China is likely to be an extra boost to its growth for the current fiscal year," Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute in Tokyo, told AFP.

The share gain was also backed by speculation that Nintendo would soon launch a smaller version of the Switch, "which will make up for a shrinking market share of its 3DS" portable games, said Yasuo Imanaka, an analyst at Rakuten Securities in Tokyo.

But analysts have warned that Nintendo and its gaming rival Sony may be forced to put the brake on growth as Google plans to release its Stadia platform that will let game players stream their titles to any device they wish.

Sony, maker of the PlayStation console, is scheduled to release its full-year results on Friday.