Nintendo profit to take a rare fall

Nintendo's profit will take a fall for the first time in six years when its annual results are released on Thursday. Photo / Supplied

TOKYO - Japanese video game and console maker Nintendo reports earnings for the fiscal year ended March 31 this Thursday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: Nintendo got a boost from healthy year-end holiday sales though annual profit is still expected to fall from the record result achieved the previous year.

Price reductions on the Wii - the world's top-selling home console - to 20,000 yen from 25,000 yen in Japan and to $200 from $250 in the US before the shopping season helped to boost sales volume.

The maker behind Super Mario and Pokemon games hopes to continue to woo more fans with a handheld with 3D capabilities that doesn't require special glasses during the fiscal year through March 2011.

BY THE NUMBERS: Nintendo is forecasting its first drop in profit in six years for the fiscal year through March 2010, at 230 billion yen (NZ$3.3bn) profit. Sales were weak earlier in the fiscal year while a strong yen and the price cuts also reduced profitability.

Nintendo reaped a record 279.1 billion yen profit for the fiscal year ended March 2009. Nintendo does not break down quarterly numbers. The Kyoto-based manufacturer expected to sell 20 million Wii machines and 30 million DS machines in the 12 months through March 2010. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expect fiscal year profit of 229 billion yen ($2.4 billion).

ANALYST TAKE: "We are expecting the results to be better than the company forecasts for the Wii," said Yuta Sakurai, analyst with Nomura Securities in Tokyo. "Christmas shopping was strong."

He is reserving judgement on how the 3D machine will fare until he sees more details. Nintendo is promising more details at the E3 show in Los Angeles in June.

WHAT'S AHEAD: Hopes are high for 3D games but Nintendo faces intense competition from Microsoft with its Xbox 360 and Japanese rival Sony, which makes PlayStation3. Both are also bringing 3-D gaming to their home consoles although those games require special glasses.

STOCK PERFORMANCE: Nintendo shares have been recovering over the last three months from an earlier decline.

- AP