Since Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin took the reins over at THQ, the company's been adamant about enacting changes to overcome its numerous financial woes. While it's a bit too early to see the effects of these changes, the company still has some good news, as it managed to beat expectations for its fiscal first quarter.
For the quarter ended June 30, THQ exceeded expectations and pulled in $38.5 million in revenue. That total is still down from the $141.2 million the company saw during this period last year, but it's well above the
average analyst estimate of $29.3 million. The company also endured a loss of $23.2 million, up from a loss of $64.4 million year over year. It's not exactly a turnaround, but shareholders are feeling some relief tonight.
THQ said its revenues were largely driven by older titles like
Saints Row: The Third,
WWE 12, and
UFC Undisputed 3. During this quarter, the company also
sold off its UFC licence to EA for an undisclosed cash payment.
Since becoming THQ's president in May, Jason Rubin has said that he wants to improve the company's prospects by giving its few upcoming releases the
resources they need to thrive.
In June, Rubin made good on that plan, and announced that THQ has decided to
abandon the upcoming expansion for
Saints Row: The Third in favor of making a more fully-featured sequel, due for release sometime in 2013.
By delaying the next
Saints Row release, THQ hopes it'll be able to create an even more robust, and hopefully more successful product. Meanwhile, the company has to pin its hopes on a very small lineup of upcoming titles.
Currently, THQ only has five other announced titles due in fiscal 2013:
Darksiders II, WWE 13, Company of Heroes 2, Metro: Last Light, and
South Park: The Stick of Truth.
