THQ Confident of Strong Christmas Sales

Officials from major publisher and developer THQ have reaffirmed estimates for the company’s third quarter results, which includes the vital retail month of December, stating that sales so far are meeting expectations. The company estimated third quarter earnings of 65 cents per share on sales of $320 million in October, while analysts polled by Thomson Financial now expect earnings of 66 cents per share and sales of $323.2 million. "Our strategy to target the mass-market consumer this holiday and launch our core gamer titles for the next-generation platforms next year as the installed base ramps is working," Brian Farrell, president and chief executive, said in a statement. THQ’s most successful titles this Christmas have been licensed games WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006, SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! and The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer. The company’s upbeat statement is in stark contrast to warnings from the industry’s first and second biggest third party publishers, Electronic Arts and Activision. As a result, THQ shares rose 3.3 percent, while shares for Electronic Arts and Activision have both fallen.