Hasbro Posts Strong Q4, Full-Year Profit

PAWTUCKET: Fourth-quarter 2016 net revenues increased 11 percent at Hasbro to $1.63 billion, and net earnings were up 10 percent to $192.7 million, helped by the strong demand for its Disney Princess and Frozen dolls.

For the full-year 2016, net earnings increased 22 percent to $551.4 million, with revenues up 13 percent to $5.02 billion. Full-year 2016 U.S. and Canada segment net revenues increased 15 percent to $2.56 billion. Growth in the girls, games and boys categories offset a decline in the preschool arena. The U.S. and Canada segment reported operating profit growth of 21 percent to $522.3 million. International segment net revenues were up 11 percent, seeing growth in all four product categories: girls, preschool, games and boys. Entertainment and licensing segment net revenues increased 8 percent to $265.2 million. Full-year gains were driven by growth in consumer products and digital gaming, as well as the addition of Boulder Media. Operating profit for entertainment and licensing was $49.9 million, compared to $76.9 million in 2015.

Revenues in the girls category grew 50 percent to a record $1.19 billion in 2016. The category benefited from shipments of Hasbro’s line of Disney Princess and Disney Frozen fashion and small dolls. Additional revenue growth came from Hasbro brands such as Furreal Friends and Easy-Bake Oven products. Boys category revenues for the full-year increased 4 percent to $1.85 billion, driven by gains in the franchise brand NERF, as well as shipments of Yo-Kai Watch. Preschool category revenues declined 1 percent to $589.2 million in 2016, as revenue growth for the Play-Doh franchise brand was offset by declines in Playskool Heroes and core Playskool items. Games category revenues for the year increased 9 percent to $1.39 billion.

“Hasbro’s global team delivered a tremendous 2016,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s chairman, president and CEO. “We reached the $5 billion revenue mark for the first time in company history, we improved profitability and we invested to grow Hasbro over the long-term while increasing our dividend and share repurchase levels. Hasbro’s foresight to build brands led by storytelling, consumer insights and innovation, combined with the relentless execution of our Brand Blueprint including investments in entertainment and digital gaming, is driving our business and creating long-term strategic differentiators for Hasbro. We are well-positioned for a successful 2017 and the continued advancement of Hasbro’s brand-building capabilities for years to come.”

“Our strong top-line performance continued in the fourth quarter and we profitably grew Hasbro throughout the year,” said Deborah Thomas, Hasbro’s chief financial officer. “Looking ahead, we are very well-positioned to support our business. We continue investing in our industry-leading brands, our differentiated capabilities around the Brand Blueprint and in our systems to support long-term, cost-efficient business growth. We ended the year with $1.28 billion in cash, inventories in line with last year, and we paid out $400 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.”