THQ narrows its fiscal 4th-quarter loss, aided by sales of new games; outlook falls short

THQ narrows 4Q loss, aided by sales of new games

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. — Video game developer THQ Inc. on Wednesday reported a narrower loss for its fiscal fourth quarter, thanks to brisk sales of new video game titles, but forecast lower-than-expected earnings for the current period.

For the three months that ended March 31, THQ’s loss totaled $10.4 million, or 15 cents per share. In the same period last year, the company lost $96.9 million, or $1.44 per share. Excluding one-time items, THQ said it would have earned 6 cents per share in the latest quarter — beating the penny per share that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast.

Revenue increased 16 percent to $197.7 million from $170.3 million in the year-ago quarter, also topping analysts’ $179.5 million average estimate. THQ said revenue was boosted primarily by sales of two new games, “Darksiders” and “Metro 2033.”

For the full year, THQ narrowed its loss to $9 million, or 13 cents per share, from $431.1 million, or $6.45 per share. On an adjusted basis, net income was 19 cents per share. Revenue rose 8 percent to $899.1 million from $830 million.

Analysts had forecast net income of 11 cents per share on $870.7 million in revenue.

The company said it expects to break even on a per-share basis in the current fiscal first quarter, excluding one-time items. That’s well below the profit of 4 cents per share that Wall Street is looking for. Full-year adjusted net income is expected to range between 25 cents and 30 cents per share, compared with the 32 cents per share expected by analysts.

Shares fell 39 cents, or 5.2 percent, to close earlier at $7.05 but rose 3 percent in late trading following the results.