THQ Inc. said Tuesday that it swung to a loss in its fourth quarter despite a rise in sales.

For the quarter ended March 31, the video game publisher reported a net loss of $34.5 million (-52 cents per share), compared to net income of $6.5 million (9 cents) in the same period a year earlier.

Sales for the Agoura Hills-based video game developer grew 8.6 percent to $187 million.

The company said that sales would’ve been $218 million but revenue from the sales of “Frontlines: Fuel of War,” were deferred, the company said.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 4 cents a share on revenue of $200 million, according to estimates from FactSet Research.

“In fiscal 2008, we did not achieve our revenue and profit targets and we are taking aggressive steps to ensure that we significantly improve execution in fiscal 2009 and beyond,” said Chief Executive Brian Farrell.

Shares in THQ closed down 1 percent to $20.35 Tuesday.