TOKYO: Japanese gaming giant Nintendo on Thursday reported a leap in sales and profit for the nine months to December, upgrading its full-year profit forecast on strong demand for its popular Switch console.

Net profit for April-December rose 16.4 percent from a year earlier to 196.4 billion yen ($1.8 billion), with sales for the period up 2.5 percent at 1.0 trillion yen.

The Kyoto-based firm revised upward its full-year forecasts, now projecting a net profit at 210 billion yen for the fiscal year to March, compared with its earlier estimate of 180 billion yen.

But it left its annual sales forecast unchanged at 1.25 trillion yen.

Sales of both its regular Switch platform and the Switch Lite -- a smaller, cheaper version -- are growing steadily with powerful titles, including the Pokemon series, though analysts are weighing the possible impact of the new coronavirus outbreak on production in China.

"Nintendo Switch Lite launched in September... and Nintendo Switch performed well without losing momentum, resulting in significant sales growth for the entire Nintendo Switch family," the company said in a statement.

AFP