Finally — a bright side for THQ (NSDQ: THQI). After posting massive losses for the past four quarters, the game publisher is finally back in the black: net income came in at $6.4 million and an EPS of $0.09 for its fiscal Q1. (Analysts were expecting a loss of $0.08 per share).
That’s a vast difference from the previous year’s $27 million loss — but the stock still dropped by as much as 8 percent in after-hours trading because THQ predicted poorer performance for the current quarter (since it has no new games coming out).
Still, the swing to profit is a testament to the complete restructuring that THQ kicked off last year: seven studios were shut down or spun off, about 600 employees were let go, and the company regrouped itself into three business units — Core games, Casual games and a new Online division.
THQ slashed about $220 million off its books for its fiscal year 2010 (which started with this quarter). A strong debut of its UFC 2009 Undisputed fighting game, which was the best-selling title in the U.S. for the June quarter (per NPD), and its franchise shooter Red Faction: Guerrilla, contributed to the turnaround.
| 2Q 2009 | 2Q 2008 | |
|---|---|---|
| EPS | $0.09 | -$0.41 |
| Net Income | $6.4M | -$27.2M |
| Revenue | $243.5M | $137.6M |

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