Frozen and Disney Princess Dolls Drive Hasbro Sales Beat
April 18 2016 - 8:20AM
Dow Jones News
Hasbro Inc. said sales of Disney Princess and Frozen dolls
helped strengthen better-than-expected revenue and profit
numbers.
Hasbro said its first full quarter of its recently acquired, and
closely watched, line of reimagined Disney Princess and Frozen
dolls helped boost the girls segment, with segment sales increasing
41% to $165.4 million. In 2014, Hasbro won the rights to the
popular dolls away from toy-making rival Mattel Inc.
Hasbro's deep lineup of Star Wars-themed toys tied to the
release of the latest film in the series helped lead to a 24%
increase in its boys segment. The preschool category increased 12%,
boosted by Play-Doh, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in
February.
Hasbro's games segment decreased 1.9%. Gains of Pie Face and
Yahtzee were offset by declines in other brands.
The boys category was further helped by the Neft and Yokai Watch
brands while the girls category was helped by Disney's Descendants
and Baby Alive brands.
Sales in the U.S. and Canada rose 28% to $443.6 million.
International segment revenue increased 13% to $345 million. In the
region, all four product categories posted growth. Emerging markets
revenues declined 7% in the quarter while Europe grew 14% and Asia
Pacific jumped by a quarter.
For the quarter, the company posted a profit of $48.8 million,
or 38 cents a share, up from $26.7 million, or 21 cents a share, a
year prior. Revenue increased 16% to $831.2 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast adjusted
per-share earnings of 24 cents a share on revenue of $777
million.
Shares, which have increased 14.4% in the last three months,
were inactive in premarket trading.
Hasbro's strength comes as the toy industry has experienced a
renaissance lately, shrugging off concerns that playing with
traditional toys had ceded ground to children tapping away at
smartphones and tablets. Toy sales rose 6.7% in the U.S. last year,
according to research firm NPD Group Inc., the fastest rate in more
than a decade.
Mattel reports its results on Wednesday. While it has struggled
recently, under a new chief executive Mattel has been implementing
concrete steps to bolster its operations from improving ties to
retailers and patching up relationships with important
partners.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 18, 2016 08:05 ET (12:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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