Today THQ announced its financial results for the quarter ending December 31, 2005. The results surpassed its expectations. The company had projected $320 million in revenue for the 2005
holidays, and actually pulled in a little less than $358 million.
However, that"s still short of the $400 million in sales the company
posted for the same quarter the year before. Profits were likewise down from the prior year. THQ"s net
profit for the quarter totaled $47.6 million, $.72 cents per diluted
share. For the 2004 holiday quarter, the company reported profits of
$62.9 million, or $1.05 per diluted share.
THQ credited the numbers to its strategy of targeting
mass-market consumers. During the quarter, it shipped more than a
million copies each of Bratz Rock Angelz, The Incredibles: Rise of the
Underminer, and SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants. The
company also said it shipped more than 2.5 million copies of WWE
SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 during the quarter.
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Cont...
In the conference call accompanying the publisher"s quarterly report, THQ also settled
a matter of great confusion.
Earlier this week, the Ukrainian developer of the sci-fi PC
first-person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl sent out an
e-mail saying that the game "is on the stage of beta approval."
While THQ didn"t address the developer"s announcement directly, it did
say that the game is now scheduled for the fourth quarter of its fiscal
year 2007 (January through March of 2007). Gas Powered Games" spiritual
successor to Total Annihilation, Supreme Commander, was also confirmed
for the same quarter.
Speaking of THQ"s upcoming fiscal year, the publisher also gave
its first performance projections for the year. It expects sales to
increase 14-20 percent, despite an expected transitional slump for the
industry as the next-generation consoles carve out their chunk of the
market.
Investor reaction to the report was mildly positive, as THQ
stock was trading up $.30 to $26.50 at press time, with more than twice
the normal volume of shares trading hands.