Christmas Comes Early For Hasbro With 3rd Quarter Profits

By: EW News Desk Team   Date: 18 October 2011

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EW News Desk Team

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EconomyWatch, News Desk Team

 

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18 October 2011

Toy maker Hasbro Inc. has reported third-quarter profit growth of more than 10 percent, as international sales, coupled with rising demand for boys’ toys such as Nerf guns and Transformers, helped to make up for weakened consumer spending in the US.

The improved results come as the company continues to expand into global emerging markets, where a 23 percent increase in international sales helped to offset for a 7 percent decline in the US and Canada.

For the quarter ended September 25th, Hasbro posted net earnings of US$171 million, or $1.27 a share, up from $155.2 million, or $1.09 a share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue also increased by 4.8 percent to $1.38 billion, thanks in part to a positive $35.2 million currency exchange and growth in all major geographic regions.

Yet despite the overall positive growth, investors from Wall Street remain dissatisfied by the results. It was Hasbro's fourth consecutive quarter of relatively disappointing results, noted investment firm MKM Partners in the Wall Street Journal. Hasbro's results were also weaker than that of its chief competitor Mattel. The makers of the iconic Barbie dolls had posted third-quarter net income of $300.8 million and revenue of up to $2 billion on Friday.

Still, Hasbro executives remain positive that the holiday season would see even stronger growth for the company with Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner claiming that the company was in better shape for the traditionally busy quarter as compared with last year as it had kept its inventories lean with a strong product mix that had several products making this year's "hot toy" lists.

"I think of our retail partners as planning for a fairly robust season," said Hasbro’s Chief Operating Officer David Hargreaves in a conference call with analysts as quoted by Reuters.

"Certainly as we talk to them at the moment they all plan that their business with us will be up this year." 

Goldner added that the company’s shipments to its US and Canada segments were off to a strong start just three weeks into the fourth quarter, and they were already tracking ahead of the results they had achieved in the previous year.

“Our performance this year demonstrates we are successfully executing our strategy globally,” said Goldner in a press release cited by Fox Business.  “We begin the fourth quarter with a number of encouraging factors supporting our full-year outlook.”

Sterne, Agee & Leach analyst Margaret Whitfield told Reuters that Hasbro’s outlook suggested that its full-year earnings per share could top her expectations of $3 and the consensus estimate of $2.98.

Some of Hasbro’s toys that have made the “hot toys” list for this year’s holiday season include Let’s Rock Elmo, an interactive singing doll; Beyblades, a spinning top game, and Nerf Vortex foam dart blasters.


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