Hasbro posts record $230.1M profit for 2006

PAWTUCKET – Hasbro Inc. Friday posted record annual profits of $230.1 million, 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.

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During the year, the company repurchased about 22.8 million shares of common stock, at a total cost of $456.7 million.

“Given the exceptional performance of ‘Star Wars’ in 2005, it is particularly meaningful to have grown revenue 2.1 percent for the year and 4.1 percent for the quarter,” said Alfred J. Verrecchia, Hasbro’s president and chief executive officer.

Fourth quarter revenue, surging on higher sales of board games and Littlest Pet Shop figures, beat analysts’ estimates, Bloomberg News said.

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.”

Hasbro previously had announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 16 cents per common share, an increase of 4 cents over the previous dividend, payable on May 15 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 1.

Hasbro shares Thursday had gained 21 cents, to $29.12, in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, Bloomberg said. They have gained 6.9 percent so far this year, after soaring 35 percent in 2006.

Additional information is available at www.hasbro.com; from the home page, select “Corporate Information,” then “investors.” The investors’ page includes a link to today’s 9 a.m. conference call, where in another webcast next Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 8 a.m., Hasbro management will discuss the company’s strategy and new product line for 2007.

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