THQ Profit Doubles on Holiday Sales

Video game publisher THQ Inc. on Tuesday said its quarterly profit doubled on stronger holiday game sales, outstripping the most optimistic Wall Street forecasts.

Shares of THQ, known mostly for kids’ games such as “SpongeBob SquarePants” and WWE wrestling titles, rose 18% in after-hours trading.

“This is a really nice result. My hats off to them -- they did what they said they’d do and more,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. “They’re still inexpensive at this price given the cash position they have.”

Calabasas-based THQ posted a third-quarter profit of $62.9 million, or $1.58 a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $30.4 million, or 78 cents a share. The per-share profit in the most recent quarter included a 20-cent benefit from research and development tax credits.

Revenue rose to $400.3 million from $293.1 million.

Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates on average had expected earnings per share of $1.15 on revenue of $334.8 million. The highest Wall Street estimates were for earnings per share of $1.18 and revenue of $344.2 million.

THQ stood by a fourth-quarter outlook for earnings per share of 21 cents on revenue of $165 million. For the fiscal year ending in March, it now expects earnings per share of $1.53 on revenue of $750 million.

Analysts had expected earnings per share of 21 cents on revenue of $162.8 million for the fourth quarter. For the fiscal year they had forecast earnings per share of $1.10 on revenue of $682.8 million.

THQ also raised the fiscal-year revenue outlook for its wireless unit to $25 million from $20 million. THQ has been more aggressive about the burgeoning wireless game market than most other publishers.

Shares of THQ rose 61 cents, or 2.7%, to $22.86 on Nasdaq.