The Japanese videogame maker Nintendo has cut its annual profit outlook as income-eroding yen strength overwhelmed an earnings bounce from its popular Pokemon GO smartphone game.
The creator of Super Mario lowered its operating profit outlook for the year through March to ¥30 billion (Dh1.05bn) from a July estimate of ¥45bn.
The unexpected popularity of Pokemon GO sparked expectation of a renaissance at Nintendo, causing it share price to more than double in July. Investors saw it as a sign that the Japanese company would allow gamers to play titles such as Super Mario on devices other than its own waning consoles.
Nintendo’s president, Tatsumi Kimishima, said earnings from affiliates in the most recent financial quarter totalled ¥12bn, most of which came from Pokemon-related businesses.
“Pokemon GO got a bigger reception than we had expected,” Mr Kimishima said in Osaka after the company announced its latest earnings.
The company, nevertheless, posted a ¥812 million loss in the three months to September 30 versus a ¥7.83bn profit in the same period a year earlier, as a gain in the yen’s value bit into earnings.
That result compared with a Reuters estimate of ¥2.11bn in profit drawn from six analyst estimates.
Nintendo said it expected the US dollar to trade at an average of ¥100 over this financial year, and the euro at ¥115. It previously forecast ¥110 and ¥125 respectively.
* Reuters
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