THQ Boasts 'Successful Turnaround' As Losses Narrow Drastically

Red Faction and UFC Undisputed publisher THQ said Wednesday that it completed a "successful turnaround" for the fiscal year, following a previous year that saw massive losses and substantial job cuts. THQ attributed its turnaround to strong sales of games including UFC 2009: Undisputed and WWE SmackDown Vs. Raw 2010, each of which shipped 4 million units each, THQ said. Metacritic scores for the publisher were also up, with review scores for THQ's core-focused games averaging 82, up from 80 last year and 72 the year before that. For the fiscal year 2010 ended March 31, THQ reported revenues of $899.1 million, up 8 percent year-on-year. Net loss for the year was $9 million, a notable improvement over the $431.1 million loss a year prior. THQ CEO Brian Farrell said the company exceeded its financial and operating targets. "We have streamlined our cost structure, which will provide us with increased operating leverage in our model as our business continues to grow," he added. Other major core THQ games during the year included the new property Darksiders and Red Faction: Guerrilla. "We are very excited about our development pipeline and how we've positioned THQ to capitalize on both traditional and digital gaming opportunities going forward," said Farrell. The performance of new titles helped THQ gain market share during the year, the publisher said. In the U.S., the company said it is ranked as the number four independent publisher with a 4.9 percent share, citing NPD Group data. THQ also said that it's also ranked fourth worldwide with a 4.4 percent overall share. For the fiscal fourth quarter, THQ reported a 16 percent rise in revenues to $197.7 million. Net loss for the quarter was $10.4 million, versus a $96.9 million net loss from the same quarter a year ago. For the current fiscal year, THQ expects non-GAAP net sales to be between $905 million to $920 million, a 2 to 4 percent increase over fiscal 2010. Earnings per share are projected between 25 and 30 cents, about 30 to 60 percent higher than this most recent year, thanks to a lower cost structure.