THQ reports fiscal 1Q loss as revenue falls

AGOURA HILLS, CALIF. (AP) - THQ Inc. said Monday it slid to a fiscal first-quarter loss as revenue from video games fell and forecast a bigger than expected loss for the current period.

THQ said the game “UFC Undisputed 2010” was a big contributor to sales; the company shipped 2.7 million units of the game during the quarter. However, in the same quarter last year, THQ had two popular titles: “UFC 2009 Undisputed” and “Red Faction: Guerrilla” that helped boost sales.

For the April-June quarter, the video game publisher said its loss totaled $30.1 million, or 44 cents per share. That compares with a profit of $6.4 million, or 9 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding one-time items, THQ reported a loss of 21 cents per share. That was better than the average loss of 24 cents per share expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue fell 39 percent to $149.4 million. The company’s adjusted revenue _ which includes $10.9 million accounted for as a change in deferred net revenue _ totaled $160.3 million, roughly in line with analysts’ $161 million estimate.

For the current quarter, THQ forecast an adjusted loss of 60 cents to 65 cents per share on sales of $60 million to $70 million. That’s worse than the per share loss of 35 cents that analysts have predicted on $89.1 million in sales. However, for the full year ending in March 2011, THQ said it expects to break even and generate sales of $845 million to $865 million. Analysts have forecast a full-year loss of a penny per share and sales of $850.9 million, on average.

THQ shares fell 14 cents to $4.24 in after-hours trading, after finishing regular trading down 20 cents, or 4.4 percent, at $4.38.

Last week, bigger rival game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. reported stronger than expected results, boosted by solid sales of games such as “2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa,” “Scrabble” for Apple Inc.’s iPad and digital add-on content for older titles.

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