THQ Narrows Q2 Net Loss to $5.6 Million, Launches Digital Store

THQ today announced its fiscal results for the second quarter ended September 30, revealing total sales of $101.3 million, compared with $164.8 million in the prior-year period. That represents a drop of about 38.5 percent. The company also reported a net loss of $5.6 million ($0.08 per share) compared with a net loss of $115.3 million ($1.73 per share) last year.

Although THQ pointed out that it had no major product releases during the fiscal 2010 second quarter, sales of catalog titles remained fairly strong. In particular, UFC 2009 Undisputed has been a top-five best selling Xbox 360 and PS3 game for the first nine months of calendar 2009, according to NPD.

"THQ is now operating as a more focused, more efficient company,” said Brian Farrell, THQ’s president and CEO. “We continue to deliver highly rated hit titles such as UFC 2009 Undisputed and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010. We believe we are well positioned this holiday with our strong mass-market line-up led by the highly rated WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, and the latest version of our multi-million unit franchise MX vs. ATV Reflex. In addition, we have positioned THQ to take a leading role in emerging online platforms in Asia and the US."

In terms of online, Farrell is referring to the fact that THQ recently launched Dragonica Online in North America, a public beta version of Company of Heroes Online in China with Shanda Games, and announced a new partnership with Windysoft to bring Company of Heroes Online to South Korea.

Overall, investors seem to be pleased that THQ is inching closer to profitability and managed to post a solid quarter despite not releasing any major games. THQ's stock jumped 14.5 percent in after hours trading on the NASDAQ.

In related THQ news, the publisher today signed an agreement with Digital River to power a newly launched digital storefront. "By marketing and selling our PC games through the THQ store, we can take advantage of the expanding popularity of online purchasing and downloading among gamers," said Adrienne Lauer, THQ's national sales director, market development. "Working with Digital River enables us to not only provide a consistent and reliable purchasing experience, but also concentrate on developing leading games rather than the complexities of running a 24X7 e-commerce operation."