THQ Announces Loss, Looks To Brighter 2008 2

Author: by Staff

THQ has announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2008, reporting slightly reduced revenue of $229.3 million, and dropping to a loss of $7.0 million, after titles such as Stuntman and Juiced 2 failed to score major sales. For the second quarter of fiscal 2008, THQ's revenues were driven primarily by shipments of Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille, as well as Stuntman: Ignition and Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, each across multiple game systems. For the same period a year ago, THQ reported net sales of $240.2 million. Overall, the company reported a net loss of $7.0 million, compared to profit of $11.6 million in the previous year. For the fiscal year ending March 31st, 2008, THQ expects net sales of approximately $1.06 billion, unchanged from recent estimates. THQ president and CEO Brian Farrell said, “While we are disappointed with our recently revised fiscal 2008 financial guidance, we expect a solid second half to drive THQ’s 13th consecutive year of revenue growth." The company said during a recent guidance revision announcement that "...our latest editions of Juiced and Stuntman titles did not perform to expectations," indicating that the reduced fiscal outlook was already expected. Farrell commented, looking forward: “Our proven holiday line-up features WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, scheduled to release on twice as many platforms as last year. We have already shipped Cars 2: Mater-National, a sequel to last year’s top-selling family title, as well as games based on Nickelodeon’s popular Avatar, Nicktoons and SpongeBob characters.” He concluded, “We are well-positioned to increase sales and profitability in fiscal 2009, with a solid product slate, including Disney/Pixar’s Wall-E, Red Faction 3, Saints Row 2 and our first games based on the [Ultimate Fighting Championships].”