Lower costs nudge Nintendo's third-quarter operating profit 5.3 percent higher

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nintendo Co reported a 5.3 percent increase in third-quarter operating profit, in line with analysts forecasts, as lower costs helped offset a decline in overall sales.

Operating profit for the October-December quarter rose to 33.5 billion yen ($277.6 million) from 31.8 billion yen a year earlier, as costs fell 27 percent, outpacing an 18 percent decline in sales.

The profit was in line with an average 33.2 billion yen estimate of six analysts, Thomson Reuters data showed.

The company also reiterated its full-year outlook for an operating profit of 50 billion yen through March, a two-fold jump from the previous year.

Nintendo disappointed gaming fans in October when it said it pushed back the much-awaited launch of its videogame service for smartphones by a few months to March 2016.

($1 = 120.6800 yen)

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Miral Fahmy)