Nintendo have this morning released their first quarter financial results, with the company recording a net loss of 9.9 billion yen (£57.2 million) from 1st March – 30th June 2014.
That’s a striking contrast to the same period last year when they reported an 8.6 billion yen net profit, and largely discredits the success that they have achieved with Mario Kart 8. The Wii U exclusive, which launched worldwide at the end of May, has achieved 2.82 million sales in the space of a single month.
It helped Wii U hardware sales to reach 510,000 units for the quarter, although not the dramatic turnaround that the company were hoping for, whereas 3DS sales hit 820,000 units – a fall from the 1.4 million shifted last year. Still, Nintendo have made no changes to their forecasts for the financial year which will end on 31st March 2015, aiming to return themselves to a 20 billion yen profit.
They will now look to exclusives such as Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U to drive sales throughout the remainder of the year.
“During the three months ended June 30, 2014, for Nintendo 3DS (3DS, 3DS XL and 2DS), titles such as Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Tomodachi Life, released in May and June respectively in the United States and Europe, gained wide popularity. As a consequence, the global sales of the Nintendo 3DS hardware and software reached 0.82 million units and 8.57 million units respectively,” the company explained within their earnings release.
“With respect to Wii U, Mario Kart 8, released globally in May, marked 2.82 million units in sales. The worldwide sales of the Wii U hardware and software were 0.51 million units and 4.39 units respectively mainly due to a lack of other hit titles this quarter.
“Net sales as a result were 74.6 billion yen (of which overseas sales were 58.0 billion yen or 77.7% of the total sales), and gross profit was 32.5 billion yen. The operating loss was 9.4 billion yen because total selling, general and administrative expenses including fixed expenses exceeded gross profit. Ordinary loss was 9.9 billion yen and net loss was 9.9 billion yen.”
Nintendo report 9.9 billion yen net loss for the first fiscal quarter
