Mattel Posts Q4 Profit

Mattel delivered a fourth-quarter profit of $14.9 million, as compared with a loss in the year-ago period, on revenues of $1.52 billion.

“Our fourth quarter results demonstrate meaningful progress in executing our strategy and significant improvement over last year,” said Ynon Kreiz, chairman and CEO of Mattel. “We remain focused on advancing our strategy to restore profitability and regain top-line growth in the short-to-mid-term and are laying the groundwork to capture the full value of our IP in the mid-to-long-term. After three consecutive quarters of solid, disciplined execution, we are well on our way to becoming an IP-driven, high-performing toy company and creating long-term value for our shareholders. Among all the achievements in 2018, I would like to applaud our team for regaining the number one toy company position globally in a year full of challenges and headwinds. This is a great moment to celebrate, before we go back and continue the hard work of implementing our multi-year turnaround.”

Joseph Euteneuer, CFO of Mattel, added: “Our key financial metrics, including gross margin, operating income, and earnings per share, are all moving in the right direction and our cost savings initiative is ahead of plan entering 2019. Looking forward, we have ample opportunities to improve our financial performance across the board as our business strategy continues to gain traction in the marketplace.”

Revenues were down 5 percent in the quarter, impacted by the Toys “R” Us liquidation and a slowdown in the Chinese business. The company’s return to Q4 profit was assisted by improved results for the Barbie brand.