THQ today announced its fiscal results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31st 2008.

Despite an increase in sales for the twelve months ended March 31st 2008 from $1,026.9 million to $1,030.5 million marking the publisher's 13th consecutive year of revenue growth, the company reported a net loss of $35.3 million compared to a net income of $68.0 million in the year previous.

"In fiscal 2008, we did not achieve our revenue and profit targets and we are taking aggressive steps to ensure that we significantly improve execution in fiscal 2009 and beyond," said Brian Farrell, THQ president and CEO. "Going forward, we are focused on three key initiatives. We are rolling out a stronger slate of products. We have put in place and are executing against initiatives to improve our product quality and competitiveness. We are also realigning our cost structure to generate significant operating leverage in fiscal 2009. We believe these initiatives will restore profitable growth and improve value for shareholders."

For the fourth quarter of 2008, THQ reported net sales of $187.0 million compared to $172.1 million for the same period a year ago. Exceeding prior expectations, THQ attributed the success to Frontlines: Fuel of War, MX vs. ATV Untamed (1.5 million units), and WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 (6 million units), the latter two both exceeding expectations while KAOS Studios first-person-shooter met sales predictions. Lower than expected sales of previously released titles however led to a fourth quarter net loss of $34.5 million compared to a net income of $6.5 million for the same period a year ago.

"We believe our stronger fiscal 2009 product line-up is positioned to take advantage of the expanding demographic on the growing installed base of new gaming systems," said Farrell. "Our line-up is anchored by Saints Row(TM) 2 and Red Faction(R) Guerrilla(TM), sequels to two of our most successful original franchises. We have a strong slate of new original titles developed specifically for the Nintendo Wii platform. We are introducing two new promising original brands, de Blob(TM) and Darksiders(TM). And, we plan to launch new games based on our proven annual franchises: WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, Disney/Pixar's Wall-E and a portfolio of Nickelodeon titles."

Farrell continued, "As part of our strategy of managing some of the biggest brands in entertainment in the video game category, we are thrilled with our new relationship with DreamWorks Animation. DreamWorks Animation is one of the most proven brands in entertainment based on their exceptional creative talent and box office success. We're also excited about launching our first games based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship in spring of next year in conjunction with a prime UFC event. And importantly, the new WWE Legends of Wrestlemania game next March is a great addition to our portfolio."

Looking ahead, THQ expects net sales in the region of $1,175 million to $1,200 million for the fiscal year ending March 31st 2009. For the fiscal first quarter ending June 30th 2008, the publisher expects net sales of between $115 million and $125 million representing an overall net loss due to a light release schedule for the quarter period.