TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo's fiscal second quarter net profit rose by nearly a third on strong sales of software for its Switch Lite game console, the company said Thursday.

Net profit for Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. rose to 45.4 billion yen ($420 million) in the July-September quarter from 34 billion yen a year earlier.

Sales rose 23% from a year earlier to 271.9 billion yen ($2.5 billion).

The company said it sold nearly 5 million Nintendo Switch machines in April-September, while sales of its handheld Switch Lite, which was launched in September, totaled nearly 2 million units.

The Switch is a hybrid game machine that works both as a console and a tablet. More than 40 million consoles have been sold since sales began about two years ago.

Nintendo said its forecasts for the fiscal year that ends in March 2020 were unchanged at 180 billion yen ($1.7 billion) profit on 1.25 trillion yen ($11.5 billion) sales.

The Nintendo Switch Lite is a compact and lightweight version of Nintendo Switch meant for on-the-go playing.

Nintendo, which makes Super Mario and Pokemon games, said its game software "Super Mario Maker 2," released in June was selling well, as are games from outside software makers such as "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe."

Nintendo stuck to its sales forecast for this fiscal year, which runs through March 2020, at 18 million Switch machines.

Switch sales for the last fiscal year totaled 17 million machines, falling short of the company's goal of 20 million.

Nintendo has been diversifying its business with ventures like theme park facilities and merchandise featuring Nintendo characters like Pikachu.

It also offers games for smart devices, a move it resisted at start for years, allowing its characters to only appear in games designed for Nintendo game machines.