"Guitar Hero" helps Activision to 4th-qtr profit

Activision also said it expected earnings of 13 cents per share, excluding special items, on revenue of $500 million for the current first quarter.

Wall Street analysts, on average, have forecast 13 cents per share on revenue of $493 million on Reuters Estimates.

Those forecasts do not include results from the games unit of France's Vivendi , which makes the popular "World of Warcraft" game and is merging with Activision in a deal expected to close by the middle of the year.

Shares of Activision rose 3.9 percent to $28.78 in extended trade from a close of $27.70 on Nasdaq, where they had gained less than 1 percent in the regular session.

For its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, Activision showed a profit excluding stock-based compensation costs of $54.9 million, or 17 cents per share.

That compared with a loss of 4 cents per share a year earlier and handily topped Wall Street expectations for a profit of 5 cents a share.

Revenue was $602.5 million, up 93 percent from a year ago and burying the average Wall Street forecast of $373.6 million.

Activision, which also makes the "Tony Hawk" skateboarding games and "Spider-Man" titles, competes with Electronic Arts Inc , Take-Two Interactive Software Inc and France's Ubisoft .

(Reporting by Scott Hillis; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Braden Reddall)