THQ’s Quarterly Profit Jumps 32%

THQ, one of the nation’s largest publishers of video games, posted a 32% jump in profit on flat revenue for the fourth quarter, benefiting from last year’s launch of Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox and Nintendo Co.’s Game Boy Advance game consoles.

Revenue rose a slight 3% to $196.4 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31. Profit rose to $28.5 million, or $1.12 a share, from $21.5 million a year ago.

Chief Executive Brian Farrell said he expects Sony Corp. and Microsoft to slash the price of their consoles from $299 to $199, matching Nintendo’s GameCube console. Such a move would benefit companies such as Calabasas-based THQ, which sells more software as more homes acquire consoles.