THQ Reports Record Second Quarter Net Sales, Exceeds Revenue and Profit Guidance - New Releases, and Destroy All Humans!(TM), Juiced(TM) Drive Strong Results -   Management Reaffirms Fiscal 2006 Earnings Guidance AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI) today announced that continued strong global sales of its original franchises and family titles drove 48% year-over-year net sales growth and a narrower-than-expected loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2006.

For the three months ended September 30, 2005, THQ reported record second quarter net sales of $142.7 million and a net loss of $1.4 million, or $0.02 per share. These results exceeded the company's previous guidance of net sales of $125 million and a loss of $0.07 per share. For the same period a year ago, THQ reported net sales of $96.3 million and a net loss of $6.4 million, or $0.11 per share.

For the six months ended September 30, 2005, net sales grew 63% to $300.7 million from $184.5 million for the same period a year ago. THQ's net loss was $5.4 million, or $0.09 per share, compared with a net loss of $10.3 million, or $0.18 per share, for the first six months of fiscal 2005.

"THQ's games continue to strike a responsive cord in players of all ages around the world. Our second quarter results reflected strong sales of our original properties Tak, Destroy All Humans! and Juiced, as well as our industry leading portfolio of licensed properties, including WWE Day of Reckoning 2 and Scooby Doo! Unmasked. Our catalog also continues to perform well, with three of our holiday 2004 titles moving to Greatest Hits status during the second quarter," said Brian Farrell, president and CEO, THQ.

"This holiday season we plan to bring to market games based on our most successful brands targeted to the mass-market consumer on the huge installed base of current generation hardware," Farrell continued. "We are confident WWE SmackDown, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Incredibles, Bratz and Tak will top holiday shoppers' wish lists this year, and we intend to support these brands with significant marketing and in-store promotion activities."

Fiscal 2006 Guidance

THQ reaffirmed previous earnings guidance and increased net sales guidance for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, and provided initial guidance for the fiscal third quarter ending December 31, 2005:

• For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, THQ expects net sales of approximately $770 million and net income of approximately $0.67 per diluted share
• For the third quarter of fiscal 2006, the company expects net sales of approximately $320 million and net income of about $0.65 per diluted share

All per share amounts reflect a 3-for-2 stock split effected on September 1, 2005.

Recent Developments

• THQ was the #2 independent video game software publisher in North America, the UK and Australia/New Zealand for the first nine months of calendar 2005, according to the NPD Group, Inc., Chart Track and GfK, respectively

• THQ announced an extension of its new Juiced(TM) franchise on the PlayStation(R) Portable (PSP(TM)) handheld entertainment system, scheduled for spring 2006

• THQ's flagship titles from holiday 2004: The Incredibles, The SpongeBob SquarePants(TM) Movie and WWE(R) SmackDown(R) vs. Raw(R) each achieved "Greatest Hits" status during the second quarter

• THQ added 25 years of product, online and marketing experience to its management team, naming Kelly Flock executive vice president of worldwide publishing

• THQ appointed Jeff Griffiths, former president and CEO of Electronics Boutique, to its board of directors

• Microsoft's recent X05 event highlighted three of THQ's upcoming titles for the Xbox 360(TM): MotoGP(TM) Ultimate Racing Technology 2006, Saint's Row(TM) and The Outfit(TM), and each garnered critical acclaim from the enthusiast press