Hasbro, Inc., the nation's second largest toymaker, reported strong second quarter results with net revenue up 11% over the same period in 2004 -- driven by a strong 25% increase in sales of toys in the U.S., largely attributable to Hasbro's Star Wars toys, though the company's Nerf, Transformers, My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop lines were also cited as contributing factors. 

Sales of toys in the U.S. soared from $167.1 million in Q2 2004 to $209.3 million in the second quarter of this year.  The Star Wars toys, which clearly benefited from the boffo debut of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, also helped drive Hasbro's foreign sales, which climbed 17% from $179.1 million in Q2 2004 to $210.2 million during the same period in 2005.

Revenues in the games segment were $142.9 million for the quarter versus $161.6 million a year ago, a decrease of 12%.  Hasbro attributed the decrease in revenue primarily to trading card games with both Duel Masters and Magic: The Gathering down year over year as well as to a drop in board game revenues due to the increasing seasonality of the business, which reflects retailers' continuing focus on keeping inventory levels of high ticket board games down. Operating profits from the games segment declined even more precipitously from $28.7 million to $13.4 million -- a decline that was primarily due to slower sales of trading card games, which have a higher margin than the board games.