KYODO NEWS - Jul 26, 2017 - 18:25 | All, Lifestyle

Nintendo Co. reported Wednesday a group net profit of 21.26 billion yen ($190 million) for the April to June quarter, a turnaround from a 24.53 billion yen loss a year earlier, on the back of solid sales of its Switch game console and related software titles.

The results for the first quarter of the 2017 business year indicate the Kyoto-based video game giant is poised for a comeback after several years of weak earnings due to lackluster sales of the Switch's predecessor, the Wii U.

Nintendo booked a consolidated operating profit of 16.21 billion yen, up from last year's 5.13 billion yen loss, on revenue of 154.07 billion yen, up nearly 2.5-fold.

The company logged a non-operating profit of 15.11 billion yen, up about eightfold from a year earlier, as a weaker yen boosted its overseas earnings in terms of the Japanese currency and on investment returns from an affiliate that owns rights to the Pokemon Go mobile game.

It shipped 1.97 million Switch consoles in and outside Japan in the April-June quarter and kept unchanged its full-year estimate of selling 10 million consoles.

The console, which has a display screen and detachable controllers and can act as both a home system and a handheld machine, has proved popular since its March release with production struggling to meet demand in markets including the United States, Europe and Japan.

A large following for Nintendo's software titles, such as "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," has helped fuel sales of the console.

Revenue in mobile games, which the company views as the third pillar of its business along with hardware and software, combined with licensing income for intellectual property grew more than fivefold on the strength of entries in the Super Mario and Fire Emblem franchises.

Nintendo maintained its earlier net profit forecast of 45 billion yen for the 2017 business year, down 56.1 percent from the previous year when it sold off Major League Baseball team the Seattle Mariners.

It also maintained its revenue outlook, projecting a 53.3 percent jump to 750 billion yen.