PAWTUCKET – The blockbuster success of the new “Transformers” movie could mean as much as $600 million in sales of Transformers toys this year for their manufacturer, Hasbro Inc., Dow Jones Newswires reported.
In the two and a half weeks following its release on June 24, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” garnered $607.6 million in global ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo, making it the highest-grossing film of 2009 to date.
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Analysts predict that 2009 sales of Transformer products could be as much as 25 percent higher than the $482 million in sales generated by the original “Transformers” movie-toy line in 2007, Dow Jones reported, giving Hasbro as much as $600 million in sales by year’s end.
Drew Crum at Stifel Nicolaus expects the toy line to generate $550 million in sales, Dow Jones said. Longtime Hasbro-watcher Sean McGowan of Needham & Co. forecasts Transformers sales of approximately $595 million, or 14 percent of total expected revenue at Hasbro.
By contrast, more conservative analysts such as Gerrick Johnson of BMO Capital Markets believe the recession-driven decline in consumer spending will mean this year’s Transformers toy sales will not exceed those in 2007.
Hasbro is also looking to the Aug. 7 release of “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” to boost 2009 action-figure sales. Lutz Muller, a toy marketing analyst at Klosters Trading, estimates that sales for G.I. Joe movie-related toys will total between $150 million and $180 million this year, according to Dow Jones.
Hasbro will report second-quarter earnings on Monday. Analysts expect earning per share to be 24 cents, down from 25 cents in the same quarter last year, and for sales to come in at $797 million, up from $784 million a year ago, according to FactSet Research Systems.
Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) is a world leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of traditional and high-tech games and toys under brands including Cranium, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, Playskool, Tiger, Tonka, Transformers and Wizards of the Coast. Additional information is available at www.hasbro.com.
