'Higher-than-expected sales' boost THQ's Q4 expectations

THQ has said that it expects to exceed its previous financial expectations for the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, thanks to "higher-than-expected" sales of Saints Row: The Third and UFC Undisputed 3. The company now expects to report sales of $160-170 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2012, compared to its original estimate of $130-150 million. It said that this revised figure was down to strong retail sales of Saints Row: The Third, and higher-than-expected digital sales of the game. THQ said that the game has now sold more than 4 million units since it launched last November. UFC Undisputed 3 has also sold better than previously expected, said THQ, thanks in part to good press reviews for the game and a solid Metacritic rating of 85. Thanks to these fourth quarter results, the company now expects to report its year-end cash balance as $76 million, three times higher than previously estimated, while its net loss per share will now be in the $0.10-0.20 range, compared to the previously expected $0.35-$0.50 range. This is the first piece of positive news for THQ in a while, as the company's third quarter revenues fell well below analyst consensus earlier this year, with reported sales of $404.4 million and a loss of $55.9 million. After THQ was forced to lay off 118 employees from its Relic Entertainment and Vigil Games subsidiaries, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick predicted that the company won't last another six months.