Sales Down at Mattel in Q1 2017

First-quarter financial results for the year have been released at Mattel, where the company’s worldwide net and gross sales dropped by 15 percent.

Reported operating loss was $127 million, compared to the prior year’s $49.1 million. Adjusted operating loss was $122.1 million versus $38.6 million the year before. Lower sales in North America and Europe were partially offset by a strong performance in Asia Pacific, where net and gross sales were up 17 percent, and continued momentum in Latin America, where net sales were down 1 percent and gross sales rose 4 percent. POS remained strong across the Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price brands.

Q1 net sales in North America decreased by 23 percent, with gross sales down 24 percent. In the international region, net sales dipped by 2 percent as reported and 1 percent in constant currency, while gross sales decreased by 2 percent as reported and were flat in constant currency. The company’s debt-to-total capital ratio was 51.1 percent as of March 31, 2017.

“Our Q1 results were below our expectations due to the retail inventory overhang coming out of the holiday period, but we remain encouraged by strong performance at retail for our key core brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price, as well as sustained momentum in high-growth markets like China,” said Margo Georgiadis, the CEO of Mattel. “We are confident we have worked through the majority of this overhang and look forward to a strong launch of Disney’s Cars 3 theatrical release in the second quarter. While we have a lot of work to do to successfully position Mattel for the future, we see a clear runway to improving growth and profitability over time.”