THQ’s Quarterly Profit Falls 94%

THQ Inc., a Calabasas developer of video games, said its second-quarter profit tumbled 94% from a year earlier, to $26,000 from $450,000.

The lower earnings in the quarter ended June 30 reflected an increase in the number of games returned by toy retailers, and higher overhead costs “in anticipation of increased volume” during the second half of this year, which includes the crucial Christmas season, THQ said.

THQ said its second-quarter sales doubled, to $7.04 million from $3.52 million a year earlier. The results were boosted by sales of THQ games pegged to the relatively new Super Nintendo Entertainment System video-game player.

For the first half of this year, THQ’s profit rose 58%, to $1.23 million from $779,000 a year earlier, and its six-month sales soared to $17.7 million from $6.17 million.