Mattel Narrows Losses in Q1 2019

For the first quarter of 2019, Mattel reported a loss of $183.7 million, compared with a loss of $311.3 million a year prior.

Net sales were down 3 percent as reported to $689.2 million, and up 1 percent in constant currency, versus the prior year’s first quarter. Gross sales of $780.1 million were down 2 percent as reported, and up 2 percent in constant currency.

Barbie gross sales were up 7 percent as reported, and up 13 percent in constant currency. Hot Wheels gross sales were up 4 percent as reported, and up 9 percent in constant currency. Fisher-Price and Thomas & Friends gross sales slipped 8 percent as reported (down 5 percent in constant currency).

Ynon Kreiz, chairman and CEO of Mattel, said: “This was another strong quarter, demonstrating meaningful progress in the execution of our strategy, a significant improvement in profitability and a solid performance in our topline. The positive momentum exiting 2018 has continued and is reflected in our operating results. While we are in a multi-year turnaround, we remain on track to achieve our goals to restore profitability and regain topline growth in the short-to-mid-term and capture the full value from our IP in the mid-to-long term. I continue to be inspired by the commitment and capabilities of our organization as we build shareholder value and transform Mattel into an IP-driven, high-performing toy company.”

Joseph Euteneuer, CFO of Mattel, said: “This represents the third consecutive quarter of improvement in our key profitability metrics, including gross margin, operating income, EBITDA and EPS. We have achieved $610 million of run-rate savings from our Structural Simplification program and expect to exceed our goal of $650 million exiting 2019. We have begun implementing our Capital Light model and look forward to starting to realize additional savings in 2020.”