Nintendo to divide its share price by ten, anticipates a drop in Switch sales | Photo credits: Ubisoft
by Sam Nussey
TOKYO, May 10 (Reuters) – Nintendo announced on Tuesday a tenfold stock split from October 1, a move long called for by investors and aimed at improving the liquidity of the video game maker’s shares.
The surprise announcement came as Nintendo said it expects to sell 21 million Switch game consoles in the fiscal year which started April 1, down 9% year-on-year as the company faces to the global shortage of electronic components.
Nintendo sold 23.06 million Switch consoles for the fiscal year ending March, in line with estimates from the video game maker announced in February.
Demand for the Switch, which is in its sixth year on the market, was boosted by the November launch of a model with an OLED display, which sold 5.8 million units on the market. year, but this one remains out of stock.
Nintendo, which depends on its own productions to boost game sales, expects to sell 210 million software this year, up from 235 million last year.
The company has a solid portfolio despite the postponement of the “Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” sequel to the spring of 2023, with titles coming this year including “Splatoon 3.”
The company’s stock has gained 5% since the start of the year. (Reporting by Sam Nussey; French version Elena Vardon, editing by Kate Entringer)