Frozen 2, Star Wars Toys Boost Hasbro’s Q4 Revenue

Fourth-quarter 2019 revenues at Hasbro increased 3 percent to $1.43 billion, bolstered by strong demand for products for Disney’s Frozen 2 and Star Wars.

“The global Hasbro team delivered a good year and achieved key objectives we set for 2019,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We profitably grew revenues across regions absent foreign exchange supported by the successful execution of our channel strategy; we delivered growth in Magic: The Gathering driven by the successful launch of Arena and we executed at a high level during the holiday season. Our acquisition of Entertainment One accelerates our Brand Blueprint strategy and significantly expands our expertise and capabilities as a global play and entertainment company. Our teams are actively engaged to unlock value across our organization—in gaming, in toys, in consumer products and in entertainment.”

Net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2019 were $267.3 million, compared to $8.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

For the full-year 2019, net revenues increased 3 percent to $4.72 billion. Net earnings were $520.5 million, compared to $220.4 million.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2020, Hasbro completed the acquisition of Entertainment One (eOne). Hasbro’s financial results for Q4 and full-year 2019 do not include the results of eOne but were impacted by eOne acquisition financing, foreign exchange hedges and other activities. These include $2.4 billion, net of discounts and fees, related to the issuance of long-term debt; $975.2 million, net of fees, related to the equity issuance of 10.6 million shares of common stock; $10.7 million in interest expense associated with the long-term debt issuance; and $17.8 million of eOne acquisition-related costs for the fourth quarter and full-year 2019.

Full-year 2019 entertainment, licensing and digital segment net revenues increased 22 percent to $434.5 million. The revenue growth was fueled by the first full year of Magic: The Gathering Arena, Hasbro’s share of revenues from the Transformers: Bumblebee film earned to date, consumer products revenue growth and higher digital gaming licensing revenues. This was partly offset by lower digital streaming revenues versus 2018’s multiyear digital streaming deal for Hasbro television programming.