Hasbro Inc. posts record $230.1M profit for 2006

PAWTUCKET – Hasbro Inc. has posted record annual profits of $230.1 million in 2006, up 8.5 percent from $212.1 million in 2005.
The company credited strong performance by core brands, including Littlest Pet Shop, Playskool, Nerf, Monopoly, Transformers, Clue and
Magic: The Gathering.
Earnings per diluted share rose for the sixth straight year to $1.29, from $1.09 in 2005. Excluding one-time expenses related to its “Star Wars” contract with George Lucas, the 2006 earnings would have been
$1.43 per share. Total net revenue was $3.2 billion, a gain of 2.1 percent from 2005.
During the year, the company repurchased about 22.8 million shares of common stock, at a total cost of $456.7 million.
For the fourth quarter, the company posted earnings of $108.3 million, or 62 cents per diluted share, up 14.8 percent from $94.3 million and
48 cents per diluted share in the year-ago period.
Net revenue was $1.1 billion, an increase of 4.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005.
“Our balance sheet remains strong,” said David Hargreaves, chief financial officer, “and our operating margin, at 11.9 percent, is very close to the near-term target of 12 percent that we have been articulating for a number of years.”