Shares in Japanese games and hardware manufacturer Nintendo dipped a seemingly dramatic 17% in early trade Monday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the company cooled expectations of an immediate profits bonanza from ‘Pokemon Go.’ The augmented reality game has become an instant sensation since its roll out in North America earlier this month.
In a regulatory filing, Nintendo issued a warning that the game would deliver no near term uplift. It said that it was leaving its profits forecast for the current financial year to March 2017 unchanged.
The share price on the TSE crumpled to JPY23,400 by midday Monday. That still leaves the shares some 69% higher than a month ago (June 27), when they stood at JPY13,870. The company is expected to announce its first quarter figures on Wednesday.
For the year to March 2017 it is forecasting net sales of JPY5 trillion, ordinary profits of JPY45 billion, net attributable profits of JPY35 billion and earnings per share of JPY291.35.
The statement in full:
“Niantic, Inc., a U.S.-based company, has begun to distribute the ‘Pokémon GO’ application for smart devices in Japan today (Friday, July 22, 2016) This mobile game application is developed and distributed by Niantic, Inc. The Pokémon Company, which is an affiliated company of Nintendo Co., Ltd. (the ‘Company’), holds the ownership rights to Pokémon. The Pokémon Company is going to receive a licensing fee as well as compensation for collaboration in the development and operations of the application. The Company owns 32% of the voting power of The Pokémon Company.
The Pokémon Company is the Company’s affiliated company, accounted for by using the equity method. Because of this accounting scheme, the income reflected on the Company’s consolidated business results is limited. Also, a peripheral device for use with the application, ‘Pokémon GO Plus,’ which will be produced and distributed by the company, is scheduled for release. All of the above are reflected in the financial forecast ending March 31, 2017 as set forth on April 27, 2016.
Taking the current situation into consideration, the Company is not modifying the consolidated financial forecast for now. The Company will make a timely disclosure when the Company needs to modify its financial forecasts.”
