THQ reports strong full-year results, raises projections for 2005

Publisher THQ has announced its financial results for the year ended March 31st, revealing record sales and a vastly improved net income figure thanks to the performance of key franchises such as Finding Nemo and SpongeBob Squarepants.

Revenues for the year were up by some 37 per cent to a record $641 million, boosted by a very strong fourth quarter which saw an 84 per cent jump in sales to $123 million, while net income rose to $35.8 million from last year's $2.5 million figure.

The strong results were attributed largely to the performance of a number of key licensed franchises - with Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo being one of the main ones, as it achieved sales of over five million units during the year, while SpongeBob Squarepants titles sold around 3.3 million units and the WWE wrestling titles sold 3.6 million.

In terms of home-grown properties, Tak and the Power of Juju sold over a million units, while the company also noted that strong sales of MX Unleashed were largely responsible for the rise in revenues during Q4.

For the coming year, THQ has raised its sales expectations to $680 million from the previously quoted $655 million, and anticipates earnings per share of between $1.05 and $1.10, as against the previous projection of $0.94.

In the current quarter, the company expects good sales from both Xbox title Full Spectrum Warrior and GBA title Sonic Advance 3, while for the full year, sales will be driven by the next WWE SmackDown! titles as well as three key movie franchises - SpongeBob Squarepants The Movie, Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles, and The Polar Express.