Nintendo Raises Sales, Profit Forecasts for 2007

Nintendo raised its sales and profit forecasts for the business year just ended for the fourth time on Thursday, citing robust demand for its DS handheld games.

The company said sales totaled about 966 billion yen ($8.1 billion) for the year ended March 31, up from its previous forecast of 900 billion yen, and compared with a consensus of 929 billion yen in a poll of 17 analysts by Reuters Estimates.

Nintendo , which competes with Microsoft and Sony in the $30 billion video game industry, said its profits are also likely to have exceeded its prior projections, but it did not give specific figures.

The Kyoto-based company said it now expects a foreign exchange-related profit of 20 billion yen for the 2006/07 business year, rather than its previous forecast of a 10 billion yen loss.

Nintendo, known for such game characters as Mario and Pokemon, plans to report profit figures when it announces its annual earnings on April 26.