Nintendo’s sales, profit up on strong Switch console demand

TOKYO — Nintendo Co. is reporting solid sales and profit for the fiscal fourth quarter, powered by brisk demand for its Switch machines.

The Japanese maker of Super Mario and Pokemon games reported Thursday that its January-March profit totalled 4.4 billion yen ($40 million), reversing a 394 million yen loss it racked up the previous year.

Kyoto-based Nintendo is getting a lift from strong sales of the Switch, a hybrid game machine that works as both a console and a tablet.

Quarterly sales rose 12 per cent year-on-year to 198.7 billion yen ($1.8 billion).

More than 15 million Switch consoles were sold during the fiscal year through March, according to Nintendo.

The company says sales of the 3DS handheld kept up even after Switch went on sale a year ago.