Cost-cutting Boosts Bottom Line
Posted by ICv2 on October 21, 2002 @ 11:00 pm CT
Hasbro released its Q3 numbers this week and reported net income of $56 million, up from $51 million in the same period last year. Sales declined 8% to $821 million from $893 million last year. Despite the improvement, profits were below analysts' expectations. Revenues were down in all three segments; all three were profitable. In the game segment, sales were particularly soft in licensed trading card games (including Pokemon. In toys, GI Joe was up 82% and Transformers up 65% vs. last year. The international segment was hurt by declining sales of Pokemon and Harry Potter CCGs, and helped by increases in Magic: The Gathering and Transformers. These results do not compare favorably with the other large U.S. toy company, Mattel, whose profits were up 40% in the third quarter, behind Yu Gi Oh, He Man, and SpongeBob, among others (see 'Mattel Has Great Q3').