THQ losses widen to $56m for Q3
3.6 million Saints Row: The Third sales countered by poor uDraw performance
Troubled publisher THQ recorded a $56 million net loss for the third quarter ended December 31, compared to losses of $15m for the same period in 2010.
Sales of Saints Row: The Third were high during the three months - 3.6 million copies, but these were countered by poor performance of novelty Wii tablet uDraw and its software. Today it confirmed it was no longer manufacturing uDraw hardware.
Net sales for the three months were $305 million, down from $315 million the previous year.
The company has had a rough week, confirming the loss of 240 jobs in its publishing and administration divisions and shelving its ambitions in the kids' market. Two licensors in the kids' sector have been dealt with, while negotiations with two others are ongoing.
On top of that, CEO Brian Farrell has agreed to slash his salary in half for a year.
"Saints Row: The Third and WWE 12 demonstrate the strengths of THQ's core gaming capabilities," said CEO Brian Farrell. "These titles performed at or better than the expectations we shared during our last investor conference call, driven by favourable critical reviews, community engagement and outstanding marketing efforts.
"Sales of the uDraw GameTablet and related software, and other titles in the kids, family and casual category were far weaker than anticipated, substantially reducing our financial results for the quarter."
"We have since concluded an extensive review of our operations to realign our business, focusing on our key franchises with the most potential," added Farrell.
"We are implementing a plan to bring costs in line with our lower anticipated level of revenue. With our focused product plan, leaner cost structure, cash balance, and existing credit facility, we believe the company has adequate resources to execute on our plan and deliver on our strong multi-year pipeline of games."
Rumours earlier in the year suggested that MMO Dark Millennium Online had been shelved, but THQ is still listing the game for release in the 2014 fiscal year.
Other titles in development for FY14 include a project with Left 4 Dead creator Turtle Rock, Volition's Insane, Homefront 2 from Crytek and a game from Patrice Desilets in development at THQ Montreal.
It also has two unannounced core titles for release in FY 2013 and four unannounced core titles due in FY 2014.