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.