Hasbro Q2 Revenue Rises on Strong Sales of Disney Princess Dolls

PAWTUCKET: Net revenues for the second quarter of 2016 grew 10 percent at Hasbro to $878.9 million, driven by strong sales for its Disney Princess and Frozen dolls and its Star Wars action figures.

“Hasbro’s focus on building brands, telling great stories, and creating the best play experiences in toys, games, digital gaming and consumer products is driving strong consumer and retailer demand for our brands globally,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s chairman, president and CEO. “The excellent execution of our team continues to deliver revenue and earnings growth, while we are investing in elevating our talent and capabilities around our brand blueprint. Our initiatives for the second half of the year feature innovative offerings for Hasbro franchise brands and partner brands, including newly announced products such as Furby Connect and Speak Out, and support for upcoming major feature films, Lucasfilm’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and DreamWorks’s Trolls.”

“After a strong start to 2016, the team delivered another high-quality quarter with revenue, operating profit and earnings growth,” said Deborah Thomas, Hasbro’s CFO. “We remain very focused on strategically investing to drive long-term growth and the execution of our strategy, while improving efficiencies and profitability over time. Our balance sheet is strong, including high-quality inventory to meet our expectations for the year, and $924 million in cash. We have the financial strength to invest in growing Hasbro for the long-term while continuing our long-standing commitment of returning cash to shareholders.”

Net earnings for the second quarter of 2016 increased 25 percent to $52.1 million. Q2 2016 boys category revenues increased 4 percent to $355.1 million. Revenue growth in the quarter was driven by gains in franchise brand Nerf, along with partner brand Star Wars as well as the addition of Yo-kai Watch. Games category revenues for the quarter increased 8 percent to $227.7 million. Pie Face, Duel Maters, Yahtzee, Simon and Bop-It were among the brands contributing to growth in the quarter. Girls category revenues increased 35 percent to $172.3 million. Hasbro’s line of Disney Princess and Disney’s Frozen fashion and small dolls along with revenue growth in Baby Alive led the increase in the quarter. Preschool category revenues increased 5 percent to $123.9 million for the second quarter of 2016. Revenue growth in franchise brand Play-Doh drove the revenue increase for the quarter.

Quarterly U.S. and Canada segment net revenues increased 11 percent to $425.9 million. Growth in the boys, girls and games categories more than offset a decline in the preschool category. The U.S. and Canada segment reported operating profit growth of 23 percent to $58 million, or 13.6 percent of net revenues.

International segment net revenues increased 11 percent to $401.1 million compared to $362.8 million in 2015. Revenue growth in the boys, girls and preschool categories more than offset a decline in the games category. Entertainment and licensing segment net revenues increased 9 percent to $51.9 million, driven by growth in consumer products and digital gaming. The entertainment and licensing segment operating profit increased 86 percent to $13.8 million, or 26.6 percent of net revenues.