THQ Posts Big Sales Gain; Profit Changes Little

THQ Inc., a Calabasas developer of video games and toys, said its fourth-quarter profit was nearly unchanged from a year earlier despite a 70% surge in sales.

The young company’s net income in the three months ended Dec. 31 inched up to $2.6 million from $2.59 million a year earlier, while its sales jumped to $32.6 million from $19.2 million.

THQ said the little change in profit reflected higher overhead expenses, increased promotional costs for certain products and lower overseas results due to the dollar’s strength relative to year-earlier levels.

For all of 1992, THQ’s profit edged down to $4.05 million from $4.09 million the prior year, and its annual sales climbed 72%, to $56.5 million from $32.9 million.