Transformers change Hasbro sales for the better

PAWTUCKET – On the backs of Transformers and Marvel movie-related products, toymaker Hasbro Inc. today reported second-quarter revenue growth of 31 percent to $691.4 million.
The company also reported that it paid $200 million to purchase all of the outstanding warrants for Hasbro stock that Lucasfilm Ltd. and Lucas Licensing Ltd. had purchased. As a result of that transaction, Hasbro took a $36.5 million pre-tax charge, resulting in net income of $4.8 million, which represented a decrease of 82.3 percent. Discounting the warrant repurchase charge, however, Hasbro would have posted net income of $41.3 million, an increase of 52.5 percent.
Net income for the first six months of the year increased 69.9 percent to $37.7 million on revenue of $1.3 billion, an increase of 32.2 percent.
“We are very pleased with out second-quarter and first-half performance,” Alfred J. Verrechia, Hasbro’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Our second-quarter operating margin improved to 8.1 percent, compared with 3.9 percent in the prior year, and our first-half operating margin improved to 8.3 percent from 1.9 percent a year earlier,” he added.
In North America, the company reported revenue growth of 24 percent in the April-to-June period and 29 percent for the first six months of the year.
In the rest of the world, Hasbro showed sales growth of 49 percent for the first quarter to $227.6 million and 39 percent for the second quarter to $415.3 million, again crediting shipments of Transformers and Marvel product lines.
“Our core brands – especially Transformers and Little Pet Shop – and new-product initiatives have performed very well, both domestically and internationally,” said Verrechia.
Hasbro is a global leader in children and family leisure-time entertainment products and services, with brands including Playskool, Tonka, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers and Tiger. For more information, go to www.hasbro.com.