Pawtucket-based Hasbro Inc., the world’s No. 2 toy company, had first-quarter profit of
$1.19 million after reducing costs. Analysts had expected a loss.
Net income of 1 cent a share compared with a loss of $262.8 million, or $1.52, a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
Hasbro was expected to lose 6 cents a share, according to analysts
polled by Thomson Financial. Sales rose 2.1 percent to $461.8
million, helped by demand for the Trivial Pursuit 20th Anniversary
Edition game and FurReal Friends.
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Hasbro paid off debt to cut interest expenses and reduced
royalty payments. Chief Executive Alan Hassenfeld, who received
his first bonus in three years, has cut jobs, trimmed inventory
and focused on classic toys such as Transformers and Play-Doh
after less demand for Pokemon trading cards and other fad items
led to Hasbro’s first loss in more than a decade in 2000.
Shares of Hasbro, based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, dropped 64 cents to $14.20 on Thursday. They’ve risen 23 percent this year.
Mattel Inc., the world’s biggest toymaker, said last week it
had first-quarter earnings because the company cut costs as sales
rose less than 1 percent.
Hasbro’s sales in the year-earlier quarter were $452.3
million.
Bloomberg News
