THQ profits beat expectations in Q2 despite slippages
Publisher THQ has announced its financial results for the three months ended September 30, revealing significantly better than expected profits despite the delay of two key titles into the third quarter.
Publisher THQ has announced its financial results for the three months ended September 30, revealing significantly better than expected profits despite the delay of two key titles into the third quarter.
The company posted a net profit of $3.6 million, down from last year's figure of $4.8 million - but well ahead of analyst expectations, which had been for a profit as low as $370,000. Even disregarding a major boost to the figures as a result of a settlement with an insurer over legal costs, THQ realised a profit of $1.1 million.
The company's revenue was also up significantly, with sales of $127 million in the quarter - up from $97.3 million last year, and beating analyst estimates of around $105 million. The improved revenue is mostly due to strong sales of THQ's wrestling franchise titles and handheld games, and comes despite delays to two key titles - "Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy" and "Warhammer 40,000: Firewarrior", which has been released in Europe but won't hit shelves in the USA until next month.
THQ, which today confirmed that it is already doing preliminary work on titles for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 2, and expects to start work on PlayStation Portable titles in the near future, revised its full-year figures upwards on the announcement of the Q2 results, and now expects to see earnings per share of around 85 cents on revenues of $570 million.
The company also announced several staffing changes, with CFO Fred Gysi set to step down in the next few months after a replacement for him is found, former film industry executive Eric Doctorow being appointed as COO, and Tim Walsh being named as the president of the company's mobile phone game division, THQ Wireless.